Unexpected Majin
by rainbowraindeer
Summary: It's amazing how one small change in plans can result in the entire Buu saga being rewritten. What if Vegeta wasn't the one Babidi chose to control? What if it was Gohan? And what if he wasn't as easy to get back? [GokuGohanGoten centric]
1. Evil Awakening

**Chapter One – Prologue: Evil Awakening**  
By** rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Dragon ball Z, full stop!

Yes, I decided to rewrite this chapter because, lets put it bluntly, it sucked. I know some of you might not actually agree with me here, but I think my writing style has come a long way since I first started on this story. I may end up re-writing a few other chapters too, maybe right up until chapter eleven.

I will still be updating the other end of this story (i.e. Chapter 19+) so don't worry about not knowing what happens when Vegeta/Buu/Babidi/Gohan arrive at the lookout. You'll know soon enough.

Also, I have changed the telepathic talking to be within speech marks rather than what they were originally in.

It would also be much appreciated if you reviewed the newer chapters to tell me if you like them better the way they are now. I can change them back if you want! Thank you for your time!

* * *

Gohan's foot taped impatiently against the cold ground. It had already been fifteen minutes, and the new opponent Dabura had promised them still hadn't shown his or her self. "What do you think is taking so long, dad?" He asked, turning around to look at his father.

"Sorry, I have no idea," He walked over to the boy, and placed a strong hand on his shoulder, "But I'm sure you'll do just fine this time around."

Gohan sighed, "I'm really sorry, dad." His arms crossed insecurely over his chest, "Maybe you or Vegeta should take the next guy…" He nervously laughed, but he knew there was no place for it. "I've kind of been neglecting my training," His feet shuffled from under him, "I'm not as strong as I was when I fought Cell…"

"Don't worry so much about it!" Goku smiled, giving his son a strong pat on the back, "When we beat this next guy," He momentarily stared at the door in front of them before continuing, "I'll spend some of the day training with you," He nudged the boy, "You know, just for fun!"

Gohan smiled. It wasn't his favourite way to spend the day with his father, but it was a way they would both enjoy. "That'd be great dad. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too son," Goku paused, soaking in the moment. He had really missed Gohan these past few years, but sacrifices had to be made to keep the earth safe. "So…" He began, thoughts of Goten, the son he never even knew, swam through his mind, "What's Goten like? I know it must be hard growing up without a father…"

_I know what you mean._ "He's a great kid, dad." It was Gohan's turn to nudge Goku; "It looks like he's taken a real shine to you!"

Goku laughed, "Yeah, and he's strong too!" Goku's hands came to his hips, "I mean, a super saiyan already! Wow!"

Gohan smiled, he really missed talking to his father. "I was surprised myself when I found out. The weird thing is, it comes so naturally to him!"

The older saiyan raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

One of Gohan's hands began to scratch the back of his neck, "Yeah, he actually became a super saiyan before he could even fly, and flying is probably one of the easiest ki based techniques there is!" Gohan chuckled, "I called him a super pedestrian at the time…"

Goku couldn't help but laugh at that joke, "I probably would have said the same thing!"

"Probably…"

……………………………

Dabura frowned, staring coldly into the crystal ball sitting in front of him. It showed three powerful warriors, all waiting for the new opponent he himself had promised them, "Are you sure, master?" He questioned. "Wouldn't it just be better – and easier – to manipulate the mind of this…" His eyes slipped over to the shortest saiyan, the one he had recommended, "…Vegeta?"

Babidi snarled at the demon king. _Why is he questioning my decision?_ His mind growled angrily. He smirked; Dabura would be dealt with soon enough, "Perhaps…" His arms crossed behind his back, and one large, green pupil rolled to look at the minion. "But this young man should be more… fun."

Dabura raised an eyebrow, confused at Babidi's choice of words, "Fun, master?"

The little wizard chuckled, "He will be a challenge!" His eyes narrowed, and his face retained its usual smirk, "I like a challenge!"

The demon king sighed, he hated to question his master, but this situation called for it, "How do you know if it's even possible to manipulate him?" Dabura just couldn't see any evil in the boy, especially from first impressions.

Babidi shook his head, "Dabura, Dabura, Dabura…" His scaly yellow hands rose to rub the crystal ball possessively, it was now focused on 'his' face. "That boy is a lot more than just a naïve smile," He erupted in laughter, clapping his hands like an excited schoolgirl. Babidi soon calmed down, and went back to talking to Dabura. "He is truly troubled, nothing like I've ever seen before."

Dabura looked into the crystal ball, the boy had a cheerful smile on his face. There was no way be could possibly be troubled, "Troubled, master?"

"Oh, yes!" He turned to Dabura; "His parents have such high expectations for him! Being the protector of the planet _and_ becoming a successful scholar, I almost feel sorry for him." The wizard smiled a devious smile; one Dabura was quite used to by now, "_Almost, _that is."

……………………………

A soft wind drifted through the small fighting area, causing the felling that something was wrong to intensify inside the Supreme Kai's being. He was filled with unwavering doubt. The fact was…

…They couldn't possibly have a fighter stronger than Dabura.

His usually soft eyes, so neutral and mysterious, widened in panic. Could the warrior Dabura had been talking about be among them? But that couldn't be possible… the warriors around him were pure of heart. That had been the point in dragging them into the whole Buu ordeal; they let nothing get in the way of world peace.

But it was still possible. Babidi was an amazing wizard when he put his mind to it. Just one lapse in your emotions and he could easily convert your heart into a dark and twisted organ, something you could never do on your own, no matter how hard you tried.

It didn't matter how easy it would be for Babidi, the real concern was who would that demented little wizard choose. He had to warn them, so he started to search for the most likely candidate.

First, he spotted Goku and Gohan, talking to each other. They seemed so carefree; unaware of the danger they could very well be in. But really, there was no way Babidi would choose one of them, and even if he did, there would be no possible way for him to succeed.

So that left… Vegeta. Supreme Kai froze, eyes landing on the stubborn saiyan prince. He had his back turned to them, standing in a stance that would make him seem unapproachable, and perhaps he was.

"Oh no…" The Supreme Kai was talking to himself, but he didn't care, "…He's the one!" He ran forward, hoping to reach the saiyan before it would be too late, but he tripped, and fell flat on his face. Not too graceful for the ruler of the universe.

He didn't let this nervous clumsiness get in his way, however, as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Vegeta! No!"

Vegeta's head whipped around, and he sent a strong death glare at the Supreme Kai, "What is it Kai?" He scowled, arms crossing angrily over his chest, "I'm not in the mood to listen to anyone!" His teeth grinded together, this caused the sound of chalk against a blackboard to fill the room. "Not after Gohan's pitiful performance." He growled, hitting a sensitive nerve in Gohan's system.

"But Vegeta!" The Kai pleaded, quickly getting to his feet, "I fear that Babidi may try to take control of one of you three. And the possibility is, it may very well be you."

Vegeta hid a grin; he had truly hoped that would be the case…

……………………………

Babidi's hands circled the crystal ball, causing it to focus on the boy's face. This would truly be a brilliant moment. He knew every element he would throw at the boy, everything that would convince him he had no place on _their_ side.

Deep down, he knew the boy would be hard to convert, but nothing was impossible. Babidi was the son of Bibidi, greatest wizard to ever exist! Creator of Buu! He could do anything.

With a gleeful smirk, Babidi yelled the one magical word that would change the lives of the Z sensei forever…

"Papadapapa!"

……………………………

Gohan twitched. He felt something softly poke at his mind. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure of one thing, it just didn't feel natural.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and the truth hit him, it was Babidi. He fell to one knee, withering in pain. This couldn't be possible, why was Babidi after him?

"No!" His sharp cry tore through the air, causing three heads to turn to him, "It's Babidi!" He informed them, panting heavily, sweat slipping down his brow.

"No…" Supreme Kai yelled in disbelief, "It's impossible!" He quickly regained himself and sprinted over to Gohan.

"What's wrong with him?" Goku asked, joining Supreme Kai at Gohan's side. "Is Babidi trying to kill him?"

"No, it's worse." The Kai replied.

Goku was confused, what could be worse than dying, "How worse?"

Before he could answer, a strong wind, surging with golden energy, picked them both up, and threw them harshly against the stony white walls. They both impacted at the same time, and slid slowly down to the ground. Goku slowly got to his knees, rubbing his butt.

"Ow…" He mumbled, pouting slightly. But the comical moment was broken as a screech erupted from Gohan's throat. He quickly turned back around to see what was happening to his son.

He watched as Gohan turned super saiyan, and collapsed to the ground. "Get out of my head!" Came a tortured cry, causing Goku to wince.

"Babidi is trying to summon the evil inside Gohan…" The two saiyan's looked at the Kai in surprise. The Supreme Kai frowned, "If he finds what he's looking for, there may be no hope for your son, Goku."

Goku's eyes widened, "No!" He yelled, welling with concern for his eldest son, "He can't do that!"

"But he is, and there may be nothing we can do about it." The purple guardian sighed, he had been sure Gohan was pure of heart.

They all heard Gohan stifle a cry as Babidi managed to break the barriers in his mind. A harsh cackling, no doubt belonging to Babidi, echoed through Gohan's conscious. He shut his eyes tight, grinded his teeth together, and tried to drown out the twisted laughing. But no matter what he tried, he could still hear it loud and clear.

Finally, after a minute of mindless cackling, Babidi spoke to the boy, "_Hello, Gohan._" Those two words echoed through his entire form. Gohan loathed the way his name sounded coming out of the wizard's mouth.

"What do you want?" Gohan hissed, managing to lift himself to his hands and knees. His hands grasped the white ground, causing his knuckles to turn white.

"_Oh Gohan…_" He could just picture that controlling smirk on the wizard's face, "_I think you know _exactly_ what I want._"

"No," Gohan snarled, cracking his eyes open, "I don't." His tone was harsh, menacing. Babidi knew the transformation from good to evil was taking effect. It was quite beautiful – in a sick and twisted sort of way.

Babidi chuckled, "_You're a smart boy, Gohan. You can figure it out._"

Gohan growled, he didn't need this _crap_. He silently gasped; he was loosing it. "I… have… to… fight it!" He gasped out; causing small sparks of golden energy to flicker around him. His hair stood up higher as he ascended to Super Saiyan Two.

"_You don't really._" He heard Babidi say, "_They don't respect you like I do, boy. I can put your power to good use._"

The boy snarled, "No you don't! No you can't! Now leave me alone!"

"_Moody are we?_" The wizard asked, a mocking tone easily noted in his voice, "_Look, there's no reason for you to try and fight it anymore. You know as much as I do…_" He could almost see Babidi deviously smile, that cunning smirk of his was truly sickening, "_…I've already won._"

Gohan's eyes flashed an angry shade of turquoise green, "No you haven't!" He slowly got to his feet, feeling newfound confidence flowing through him, "I am the son of Son Goku! And I'm not beaten that easily!"

"_Ah yes, that father of yours!_" Babidi erupted in energized laughter, "_Do you honestly think I believe you respect that man?_"

Gohan's eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees. "No… you can't use that against me!" He felt tears well up in his eyes "He was right to do what he did! He needed to keep the planet safe!"

"_Oh, really?_" Babidi asked, "_Are you sure he didn't just want to get away from you?_" Babidi smirked, he was pushing all the right buttons now, "_You truly were a horrible son. Such a coward! And you even killed him at one stage._"

A fist crashed into the ground, rattling the room. A dent was left with his punch, but was soon filled with a mixture of sweat and tears. "That's not true! It's just not true!"

"_Don't kid yourself, boy!_" Babidi hissed.

Gohan lost his balance, and fell flat on his face. The small pool he created jumped out of its hiding place and splashed all over him. "It's all true…" He mumbled, "He hates me."

"_So you finally get it. He doesn't want you! He doesn't need you!_"

"And you do?" Gohan asked, starting to believe Babidi would be the only way to go.

"_Of course I do, Gohan_!" Babidi's voice now seemed softer, but still rather commanding, "_Now come on, there's no going back now!_"

Gohan rolled onto his back, feeling a new power flow through his veins. It was nothing he had ever felt before. But strangely enough, he enjoyed it. He breath came out in harsh gasps as he accustomed to it, and he slowly got to his feet.

As if moving in slow motion, his hand lifted to his forehead, where he felt a small symbol dug into his forehead. He traced his fingers along it, and soon came to the realization that it was a perfectly crafted 'M', a sign of the Majin. "Yes, Master Babidi." His cold, obedient voice said.

……………………………

"_Yes, Master Babidi._" Those three words seemed to echo off the walls. A dark smile passed Babidi's lips. It was all over; Gohan was his to command now. It felt so great to have that kind of power, and the feeling only intensified when he gained himself a new recruit.

Babidi's dark attitude broke as the small wizard leaped into the air in glee, "This is just too good!" He laughed happily, turning to Dabura in the process, "Didn't I tell you he would be better than Vegeta?"

Reluctantly, Dabura nodded, but he still wasn't quite sure that Babidi had made the right decision.

The short wizard heard Dabura's doubt through their link of minds, but he paid no mind to it. He was too focused on his new minion. "Oh! But we can't have poor Gohan fight in such a small area, where do you think we should take them?" He asked, but didn't really expect an answer from the demon king.

A light bulb flickered on above his head, he suddenly knew exactly where. "Oh won't those wretched humans get a _big_ surprise!" He chuckled for the millionth time; everything was going so perfectly.

He raised his hands to the crystal ball, and concentrated on where he wanted to take them. It wouldn't be long before the spell would take effect.

……………………………

All eyes couldn't leave his figure. It was just so amazing, but one of their own, a fellow hero, was a majin, and there was nothing they could do about it. Gohan had chosen his side, and unluckily, it hadn't been there's.

"Please, Gohan…" Goku took a step towards his son, "What have I missed in the last seven years that has made you like this. You're pure of heart!"

Gohan's cold, turquoise eyes shifted over to him. The boy's answer surprised Goku, "Everything." He said coldly, raising his power level to blow the man anyway.

Goku collided with the wall. He coughed, but it didn't take much to get back to his feet, "Everything…" He repeated to himself. _What does that mean?_ His mind asked, Gohan didn't hear this question – for obvious reasons.

Vegeta gasped as Gohan raised his power level even more, "Incredible!" His eyes widened, "His power level is like nothing I have ever felt before!"

Goku nodded, but his mind was half on what Vegeta was saying, half on Gohan's meaning of the word, _everything_.

"But still, it is nothing compared to Buu's." Supreme Kai admitted.

"_Papadapapa!_"

Suddenly. To everyone's amazement, the room started to spin. A clash of dark rainbow colours surrounded them, before the whole scene changed. They had once been standing in a semi-circular room, now they were standing in…

…a martial arts arena?

**To be continued… **

**The new version was posted on the 28 August 2005 **

**Originally 2001 words – Now 2774 words**

I added a new never before seen scene into that chapter, one of normal, not evil, Gohan. There are two reasons for it. One: So you can see how much Gohan's opinion on everything truly changes after the transformation, and Two: I needed to write good Gohan for a change, since I love him much more that way.


	2. The First Challenger

Chapter two – Fights Begin

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z! Got that?

Last time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin! In a great struggle Babidi finally manipulated Gohan's mind. Gohan is now Majin! Much stronger than Dabura too. How will Vegeta and Goku fair against this new menace? And do they really have the courage to kill Gohan? Find out!

……………………………

"Amazing!"

The voice of the Announcer echoed through the stadium.

"Four Mysterious fighters have appeared inside the ring!"

Again the crowd let out a gasp, trying to process what just happened. A smile spread across the announcers face when he spotted Goku.

"Goku!"

He yelled to the person he was referring to as he started heading over. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed the boy with golden hair starting at him with an irritated frown. He gulped and backed away a few paces, obviously aware that this young man was getting, well, irritated at his presence for some reason.

"Uh…" He quickly switched his attention back to Goku, trying to forget about the menacing glare of the young teenager with gravity deifying locks of golden hair and piecing turquoise eyes. "I'm sorry but the tournament is over for today, maybe next t –"

He was cut off as a loud gruff voice yelled at him, obviously Vegeta, "Get out of here!"

The announcer just stood there in shook.

Gohan started to get a little impatient and simply let out a small gust of power to overcome the announcers footing and send him flying out of the ring, luckily landing on the grass outside the white stoned arena. Hercule was caught in this wind and forced to fly out of the ring also, landing a couple of feet from the wall, almost making impact with it. He sighed with relief before getting up and thrusting his two fingers into the air, making the bumbling buffoon of a hero's famous peace sign. Noticing no one watching him he decided to drop the obviously fake brave act and stare at the ring containing the people who haunt his dreams, the gold fighters from the Cell Games. That same golden boy who practically threw him out of the ring was what he couldn't take his eyes off.

His eyes became the size of saucers. _I thought they were gone!_ He gulped loudly _I thought they disappeared after the Cell Games!_ A small tap on the shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.

"What do you think they want?"

Hercule jumped at the sound of the voice. He suddenly realized it was just the announcer and put on a fake and rather cheesy grin. "I don't know? But what ever it is I'll be sure to let them know that any funny business will get them a one-way trip to the hospital! HaHaHaHa" _Nothing wrong with giving everyone a bit of confidence,_ _heh_.

Meanwhile in the ring Goku was trying to process the information, much like the crowd. _Why would he do this?_ Goku began to think to himself, _why would he sell his soul to Babidi?_ Goku looked up at his son and finally got the confidence to ask the question that continued to buzz around in his head, "Why did you allow Babidi to control you?" He said this in a small whisper, not as confident after all.

"WHY?"

At these words Goku's head jolted up to find his son looking straight at him, a little angry at his question.

"Why would you care? I'm just a failure anyway!" He stared at the ground sadly once again; _Maybe I should tell him, let him know how I really feel about him leaving Mum and Me, even little Goten, Fatherless and Widowed! _ He shook the thought out of his head and stared back up at Goku _Not yet…_. All the while Goku was stomping at the ground and shaking his head, lost for words. Gohan simply ignored his father's actions and looked up at the sky as an impatient little roach of a wizard started to contact his new Majin.

_ Gohan, this is your new Master Babadi speaking!_ - A small and disturbing chuckle echoed through his head - _As my first command I order you to kill them! Kill them all! Starting with that annoying Kai over there!_ -

Gohan stared over at the Supreme Kai, focusing on the surprised look stamped on his young, purple face.

"N…NO!"

He yelled towards the sky.

_What? You stupid boy! You will obey me!_ -

A sharp agonizing pain struck through his head as the young Majin slowly moved his hands to his scalp, holding his head in pain once more.

_-You want it to stop Gohan?_ - Gohan nodded his head, signalling a 'yes' – _Just kill the Kai! Nothing hard!_ – Willing to do anything to make the pain stop, he raised a hand at the Kai while he used his other one to continue to clutch his head. He opened one eye painfully as a dark sphere of purple and black energy swirled around in his raised palm. A loud whistle was heard as he released the blast, reliving Gohan of the stinging pain that was damaging his mind.

"NO!" Goku yelled as he jumped at the Kai, grabbing his waist and sending them both rolling to the side; clear out of the way of that life threatening blast.

Goku slowly opened his eyes and suddenly realized what the ki blast just did to the stadium. It left a rather large hole going through the wall and leaving a continuous crater, going for miles!

……………………………

A fainted Chi-Chi lay in Yamcha's powerful, at least for a human, arms. The rest of the group stared in wonder at the golden boy who they all knew and loved as Gohan, trying to process what the powerful young warrior just did, like Goku and the rest of crowd.

"Well she fainted…"

They all ignored Yamcha's comment and continued their wide-eyed staring. Bulma was the first to escape her trance, but still lived in the land of disbelief.

"Our little Gohan would never do that! Would he?" She asked herself while shaking her head, "No way! There must be something else to this!"

Chi-Chi quickly jumped to her feet and reached for a broom leaning across the railing. Once she had it in her grasp she swung it around insanely and wildly, forced her friends to have to duck and dodge the broom that was sailing rapidly through the air. She suddenly collapsed to her knees and began to cry.

"What happened to my baby?"

……………………………

The frantic crowd hurried over to every exit that existed in the area. They weren't going to stand around while more people were killed; they were going to get out of there!

A few more minutes of pushing and shoving left the stadium half empty, people move fast when there scared don't they? The rest continued to make their way out, leaving a few of the older Z-fighters the only ones who hadn't moved from their seats, apart from a few easily frightened girls who had fainted and lay unconsciously on their chairs. I'm sure they will wake up soon enough though; what with all the yells and screams of the fleeing crowd it is absolutely certain.

……………………………

His arms dropped to his sides as he sighed in relief. The pain was gone and he was back to his feet. After a few seconds he moved into a fighters stance.

While Goku was still in shock Vegeta ran at Gohan with his fist raised, forgetting completely to power up. Gohan shifted to the side and let Vegeta tumble forward a bit on the spot he was a few seconds before. Gohan raised his foot and stuck Vegeta in the back, sending the older Saiyan, sliding to the edge of the ring. Vegeta quickly pushed himself to his feet, instantly turning Super Saiyan.

"Lucky shot!"

Once again he charged Gohan. Once in a range of about 3 feet from his opponent he charged a blast and sent it at the boy, easy enough to dodge. Gohan did just that, he jumped up and begin heading for the sky in a blaze of golden light. Vegeta followed after him, quite glad the pathetic humans wouldn't get in the way of this fight.

Gohan suddenly stopped, about 300miles above the stony ring, Vegeta following soon after.

Wasting no time, Vegeta powered up even more. Gohan just watched him, a scowling look pinned to his face. He looked as though he was mocking the other Saiyan; he was drumming his fingers against one of his folded arms after all. Vegeta ignored the gesture and continued to power up. A giant gust of wind surrounded his body as he raised his arms to the sky, letting the physical effects of his recently acquired power level take place. His hair stiffened, still in its usual golden colour, becoming spikier even; His muscled body bulged ever so slightly; and lastly an electric current started to spark around his Ascended Super Saiyan form. Vegeta smirked, he was happy with his new power.

"Ready yet Vegeta?"

Those three words caught Vegeta's attention. He directed his smirk towards Gohan, "Oh yes!" And with that he flew at Gohan, once close enough he flipped and brought his boot down on the brat's head, sending Gohan sailing downwards. The boy quickly caught himself and took his turn to attack. He flew at an amazing speed towards Vegeta, the next thing the prince knew he was doubled over in pain and coughing up a fair amount of blood, Gohan had headbutted Vegeta right in stomach. Gohan smiled at his handy work before heading for Vegeta again. He swiped a fist across Vegeta's face and sent him flying; wasting no time he charged up a bright blue blast and chanted those ever-familiar words. Vegeta quickly caught himself and charged up his own attack.

"Ka…Me…Ha…Me…HAAAAAAAAA!"

"GALLIC GUN!"

The two deadly blasts collided with each other, making the sky light up in a weird pinkish blue type of colour. A giant bubble formed in between Gohan and Vegeta as the two fighters poured more energy into their attacks, but still they were at a stalemate. There power levels increased rapidly until they were at their max, or Vegeta was… Gohan didn't want to overwhelm the doomed prince with how much power he had gained from his 'awakening', yet. At this point Vegeta's blast started to ever so slowly swallow up Gohan's. Gohan bit his lip lightly before letting his blast go and jumping to the side, he probably could have over-powered Vegeta, but he just didn't want to take that chance. Vegeta smirked as his blast easily ripped through the air; it turned into a frown once he noticed that Gohan had dodged the blast, even if it was just barely.

Gohan caught his breath and flew into the air again. Once he was about five meters above Vegeta he began his decent with his fists clenched together. Once close enough to the other Saiyan he bought his hands down in an attempt to smash into Vegeta's head, he only hit air. Quickly recovering from shock he ducked under a fast punch that was aimed for the area where his head had previously been only seconds before. Gohan spun around and grabbed Vegeta's feet from under the unsuspecting older man and started to whirl him around. Vegeta felt the fast wind zip around his skin and cut him ever so slightly before being thrown away. He caught himself only to find a foot planted in his back. He jumped forward to dodge the next attack as the foot retracted and attempted another blow, missing of course.

"Not bad brat!"

He didn't allow Gohan to say anything as he flipped backwards and struck the poor boy hard in the head. Gohan was forced downward at an amazing speed. Vegeta flew under Gohan and struck him in the back, sending him upward, he wasn't done with him yet though. Vegeta headed for Gohan again; ready to punch the Majin powered brat right in the stomach. Gohan opened one of his obviously closed eyes slightly and watched Vegeta come closer; he quickly powered up a small blast and thrust a hand forward, letting it go.

"HAAA!"

The tiny blast was sent hurtling toward the unsuspecting Saiyan Prince. He was caught off guard so the blast easily struck his chest. Vegeta stoped for a second and felt his stomach, nothing seriously done, he was just a little burnt. He looked back up as soon as an arm grabbed his stomach and pushed him down at an unspeakable speed, still holding onto Vegeta's chest firmly. Once close enough to the ground Gohan let go of the man and pushed his feet into Vegeta's stomach, around the area Gohan was previously holding too. Only a second later Vegeta's back struck cold concrete, they were back in the ring again!

Vegeta slowly pushed himself off the ground and whipped a stray drop of blood away that had started to drip from his mouth. He inspected the rest of his body a bit, noticing his left arm was a bit bloody and the rest of his body was grazed pretty bad, there was a throbbing pain around his stomach where the boy had grabbed him and also planted his boots into. Man did that attack hurt!

Gohan watched Vegeta check himself for any serious cuts and bruises, the demi-saiyan stood there quietly, admiring his handiwork.

……………………………

Two light golden trails were left skimming across the rather large open sea.

A small boy of about seven years old with flowing blond or golden, if you looked closely, hair was leading one of these trails. His clothes rippled through the speeding wind, he was wearing a long sleeved blue under shirt with an orange sleeveless top. A small black belt was tied around his waist, holding his clothes together no doubt. His outfit was finished off with a long pair of orange pants and small black shoes; he was obviously wearing a gi.

Yet another golden haired boy was leading the other trail. This kid was about the age of eight and wearing a pale green gi. It had a sleeveless top with a large V-neck. His belt was a red colour and his pants were basically long. A yellow and brown pair of boots was what finished his outfit.

"Come on Trunks!" The first boy started to speed up "Where missing all the fun!"

Trunks shook his head "Goten! I'm still shaking myself off from when I fell into the water! I still can't believe you didn't know what a wizard was…"

"Good thing you told me that a wizard is a lizard turned into a man!"

He started to giggle and Trunks just laughed nervously "Yeah… A lizard turned into a man…"

He speed in front on Goten, "Anyway, Come on! Where almost there!"

"Yes sir Trunks! HaHaHa!"

Trunks suddenly stopped, causing the other boy to follow the action and begin to stare at him wonderingly. He suddenly looked to the direction they came and simply stared, much like Trunks. "Huh?" He left his trance and looked over to the other boy again, "How did they get over there?"

Trunks looked over at him and shook his head, "Absolutely no idea…" He smiled, "But the funs over there now so that's where we're headed! Okay?" Goten simply nodded his head. The two set off once again.

……………………………

They were at it again.

Kick; punch; block; dodge; roundhouse; kick; punch; duck; flip.

They continued to exchange blows in this fashion for awhile before breaking apart and flipping backwards, almost in sync, and landing on the firm ring. Both Gohan and Vegeta were panting heavily and glaring at each other. Both were grazed and bloody, Vegeta more than Gohan of course but still pretty much even. Goku hadn't done a thing so far, he still hadn't gotten out of his state of shock and it had been 20mins, along with the Supreme Kai.

Gohan and Vegeta charged each other at the same time once more, fists raised, ready to start again. These guys just never quit.

……………………………

The meter for Majin Buu's cacoon swung wildly back and forth. The small wizard was getting giddy as his watched the meter hit the ¾ mark.

"We're so close!"

……………………………

"There it is!"

Goten's small finger extended towards the big white stadium. They both noticed Videl; she was floating in the air and staring down at the ring. Trunks looked over at Goten, wondering if he new why she was just floating there. Goten simply shrugged his shoulders, obviously being able to read his best friends face. With a loud 'Whoosh' sound they flew to her side and Goten smiled up at her.

"Hey Videl!" A goofy, Goku grin stuck on his face. He shifted his head slightly to the side. She hadn't even noticed him! "V…IDEL!" He said loudly, he seemed to have dragged the 'V' a bit.

She suddenly turned to Goten, "Huh? Oh Goten!" She raised an eyebrow slightly, "What are you doing here?"

"We sensed the fun!" He replied with a smile, "Whatcha looking at?"

She motioned over to the ring inside the almost empty stadium, "Seems Gohan and Vegeta are fighting!"

"Big Brother?"

"Dad?"

Goten and Trunks both started at the ring below in wonder. They watched as the two older Saiyan's pounded on each other heavily in the ring. "I thought they were off fighting the wizard?" Trunks said out of the blue, for the first time since he arrived too, or the first time he used more than one word since he arrived anyway. He smiled happily, "Come on Goten!" He grabbed the younger demi-saiyan's arm, "Lets go!" And with that Trunks pulled Goten towards the ring at an unbelievable speed.

Videl silently shook her head and started to search for Gohan's friends and family. Upon seeing them she flew at top speed towards them, or as fast top speed was for a highly but still poorly trained human, hoping she could get some answers. Surly they knew what was happening.

……………………………

Two golden streaks headed towards the stadium and landed a few feet away from a shocked Saiyan known as Goku, Goten and Trunks no doubt! Goten and Trunks dropped out of Super Saiyan as they landed and ran over to Goku with wide smiles on their faces. The now lavender haired boy known as Trunks stopped a meter away from Goku, while the small Goku look alike kept on running towards his father.

"Daddy!" He happily yelled, beginning to hug the father he only met today. He cocked his head to the side as he watched Gohan and Vegeta go all out, "Why are Gohan and Mr. Vegeta fighting?" He asked wonderingly.

"It's kind of hard to explain right now…" He trailed off, how could he tell his youngest son that the boy's older brother was on the evil side now, he just couldn't.

Goten pushed out of his fathers arms and ran towards Gohan and Vegeta. "Brother!" He smiled and approached the two fighters, running towards them really. The two fighters stopped suddenly, just noticing that the small child had arrived.

"G…Goten?" Gohan managed to get out. "What are doing here?"

Goten started to laugh, "Videl asked us the same question!" He looked over at Trunks, signalling what he meant by 'us' "We sensed the fun!"

Trunks walked up to his father and tugged at his Gi, "I thought you were fighting some evil wizard?" He stared over at Gohan and frowned, "And what's with the 'M'? Not the best choice in tattoo Gohan!"

From the sidelines Goku sweatdropped, he stood up and started to walk towards the four at a weirdly slow pace.

Goten flew above his brothers head and waited for his older sibling to look up. Once he did Goten started to speak, "Yeah Big Brother! What's with the tattoo?"

Gohan was at loss for words, _What do I say? I'm evil now? My minds been enslaved by some evil wizard? That the tattoo or whatever they call it is the symbol of the Majin? That just sounds weird Gohan! _Gohan's thoughts came to a halt as a rather loud 'Ahem' sounded through his head.

_Yes Master Babidi?_ – Gohan asked telepathically, sounding a tiny bit annoyed, although that was overshadowed by the obedience in his voice.

_- Kill the brats!_ - The rather harsh voice yelled at him.

_What! Why them? _-

_- My patience is growing thin, I appreciate the little reunion but it is quite boring, now stop talking and kill them!_ – Babidi's voice was loud and rather creepy. Gohan shivered slightly, his eyes still wide with horror. _How can I kill my own brother and his best friend?_

Trunks raised an eyebrow at Gohan, "You ok? You look like you've just seen a Ghost!"

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Will Gohan really kill Trunks and Goten? His own brother, his brother's and even his best friend? Or will he refuse Babidi's control and fight back? It's all very puzzling at the moment! Find out Gohan's choice next time on DragonBall Z: Unexpected Majin!

Well that's another chapter done… pretty different if you read the original starting isn't it? I like this one better of course, getting Trunks and Goten involved is always the best action! Anyway I have already written up Chapter 3 and will probably have it posted by tomorrow Read and Review!


	3. Willpower

Chapter Three – Willpower

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I owned Dragonball Z in a dream once… Does that count?

Last time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin! Vegeta and Gohan start to battle, feeding energy into the terrible Majin Buu! The fight draws the attention of Goten and Trunks back to the stadium! We last left off were Babidi told Gohan to kill Goten and Trunks. Will he do it? Or will he fight back?

……………………………

Gohan looked at Trunks, his hand started to tremble. _Can I do it?_ Gohan pushed back his thoughts and reached for the eight year old demi-saiyan's neck, he froze for a second, thinking, although like I said before, it only lasted for a second. Once he had a firm grip on Trunks neck he lifted him into the air, hoping to just strangle the boy and get it over with.

At being lifted into the air Trunks instantly turned Super Saiyan and started clawing and kicking at Gohan's arm. "Let me go!" he yelled frantically, starting to chew on the older demi-saiyan's arm after this sentence. But alas Gohan didn't budge; his grip became harder to break away from. Although Gohan was cut, bruised, dirty, tired and a little hungry too he just wouldn't give in to the constant attacks of the lavender haired tyke.

The grip around Trunks' neck loosened and Gohan was sent flying into the opposite wall. Trunks dropped to the ground; he let out a small sigh of relief and began to pant heavily. "What's wrong with you Gohan?" He yelled towards the wall Gohan had just ploughed into, thank goodness good ol' dad was there, or Vegeta if you don't know who I'm talking about. "What's up with him?" He asked quietly before turning to his father; dropping out of Super Saiyan at the same time.

His father grunted loudly, "He's not the same…" Was all Vegeta managed to reply with through clenched teeth.

……………………………

Videl touched down next to the small group, raising an eyebrow when she noticed their eyes were the size or saucers and their mouths were also hanging open. She shook it off and started to wipe her dirt covered, blue 'FIGHT' shirt. She had totally missed the whole Gohan strangle Trunks thing.

Chi-Chi's head jolted to the side. "V…Videl!" She ran over to the confused girl. "Where were you? Did you just see what happened?"

As the thoughts of her son strangling Bulma's son registered back into head she fainted forwards, landing on top of Videl and sending them both to the ground.

"Well she fainted again!" Yamcha slapped his head lightly and lifted Chi-Chi off the crushed Videl. "Sorry…" He managed to say, "She does that a lot."

"So…" Her voice dragged along with the word as she considered what to say next. She finally settled on, "What happened? I miss anything?"

Master Roshi butted into the conversation, "It was a bit hard to tell from way up here but it seems Gohan attempted to strangle Trunks…" He stopped his sentence, knowing the girl wouldn't be able to take that news.

……………………………

Gohan lifted himself out of the rubble and stared at Vegeta. After a minute or two of constant glaring he flew back into the ring, only to be greeted by a punch to the face, the Prince was not pleased.

Vegeta watched as Gohan's face fell back and shifted to the side a bit, he hadn't gone flying like Vegeta thought he would, but he just stood there! Looking like someone slapped him more than punched him. Vegeta just gave the boy a death glare as Gohan brought his head back down to face him.

"WHY DID YOU TRY TO STRANGLE MY SON?"

Vegeta's voice boomed throughout the stadium. Gohan just smirked at the enraged prince and gave him a simple and one worded answer.

"Orders."

"Orders! What do you mean orders?" Vegeta practically screamed at Gohan, grabbing him by the black spandex around his neck and yanking him forward, "Was it Babidi?" His voice was loud and enraged.

Gohan nodded his head in a 'yes' gesture, "His patience was growing thin, and they wouldn't shut up…" He said this strangely, almost like he was completely calm with it, had they lost him completely to the darkness of Babidi's magic? Or was there still hope? Seems hope was turning it's back on them a bit right now though.

"Babidi…" Goten began to tap his chin after saying this, he turned to Trunks, who was rubbing his neck in a nursing sort of way, "Wasn't that the name of that evil wizard Videl told us about?" Trunks removed his hand and shrugged, obviously he didn't have a clue.

Goku reached out; grabbed Goten by the shoulders and lowered himself to the youngest demi-saiyan's eye level, "You know about Babidi?" In union Trunks and Goten nodded a 'yes' happily, answering his question.

Gohan rolled his eyes, pulled himself out of Vegeta's grasp and sent the stupid prince skidding across the tiles towards the edge of the ring. He powered up a small blast and got ready to throw it at Goten; maybe he'd have better luck with him, he was about to released the blast that would surely end Goten's life when a memory came back to him.

….

_A small child of about three years old scrambled into the house with his pants dragging off his feet along the ground. He seemed to be a bit small for the blue overalls he was wearing. His white t-shirt swung around with his movements as he shifted into the room. His clothes and body were slightly drenched thanks to the drizzle they had had earlier that day. What was noted the most about this little boy was the hair he had, the exact same as of the man in nearly every picture in this house. Son Goku. And this was Son Goten, son of Goku._

_As little Goten ran, the only thought running though his mind was,_ Big Brother will be SO proud!

_He ran through the living room, the kitchen, the stairs, the hallway and finally into his room. One he shared with his big brother, Gohan._

_He stepped into the room, his pants still overlapping his feet. He slowly made his way into the room, making sure not to track too much mud; his mother was a neat freak after all and would probably growl at him for it. Being the naive little three-year-old he was, he didn't want that._

_He got to the desk and lightly tugged at his brother's pants in an attempt to get his attention. The charcoal eyes of Son Gohan moved away from his work and onto his little brother's figure standing at his feet. He reached down and placed a hand on the kid's head._

"_What's up squirt?" He asked happily, lightly scuffing his little brother's hair._

_Goten widely smiled and grabbed the hand on his head. He brought it to his little chest and hugged it excitedly, "I want to show you something!" He said after a second, lightly tugging at the hand in his three-year-old grip._

_Gohan smiled at him and ran his other hand through his newly cut hair. It looked a bit pointy to him, and he only managed to save one hair of his fringe. Strangely it had been Goten's work rather than his moms. It had been the little guy's attempt to 'help' his big brother. He had been doing that a lot lately…_

_The fourteen-year-old sent his brother a heart-warming smile –much like his deceased father's- and got to his feet. "Sure kid." He reassured him as he made his way over to the slightly ajar door._

_Goten flashed a toothy grin and bounced over to the door. He sprinted down the hall excitedly, not looking back once to see if his big brother, Gohan was still following._

_Gohan chuckled at Goten's antics as he made his way down the hall after him. The kid was so full of energy. Just like- Gohan stopped himself before thinking those words. He felt he wasn't worthy of them anymore. He had killed his father after all, a burden no eleven-year-old or even fourteen-year-old should have to carry. But Gohan did, with a smile too, all for the sake of his little brother, Goten._

_As he rounded the next corner, he spotted the outside door in plain sight in front of him. He walked through it, hands thrust into his pockets._

_As he exited, Goten's pouting face came into view. But being the happy-go-lucky boy he was, it didn't last long and he was back to his cheerful self. He latched onto Gohan's hand, "Your too slow, big brother." He giggled and started pulling the older boy along, making sure not to loose him again._

_It didn't take long before they both managed to reach a large tree buried deep in the forest._

_He let go of Gohan's hand and latched onto the tree trunk with his small limbs. He climbed quickly; only to stop halfway to say something to his brother, "Watch me climb the tree, Gohan!" He yelled before turning back around and scurrying up the rest of the way._

_Gohan couldn't help but smile as his brother reached the top. As a way to show how he felt, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled to the small chibi now perched on one of the highest branches, "Well done squirt!" Gohan was amazed that Goten didn't find that little nickname offensive or anything. He actually found it flattering._

_Goten giggled at his brother's comment and started to sway back and forth of the branch. The small drizzle from earlier that day started up again so Goten decided to get off the tree. As he stood up, he found the branch already slippery. He causally made his way over to the trunk but never made it, he had already slipped by that time and was soon tumbling towards the ground._

"_Help me, big brother!" He screamed._

_Gohan found his feet glued to the ground as he watched his brother fall to his supposed death. He may have been a saiyan, but he hadn't been taught or trained before, nothing like Gohan or even baby trunks, who was forced into a three-hour morning spare everyday. He probably never would, there was no need anymore. In fact, the only one really obsessed with keeping his shape was Vegeta; the others had given up._

_But that was beside the point, the fact is, Goten didn't have anyway to save himself, and had to trust his big brother. Even if Goten didn't know, Gohan killed his father, and didn't wish to be put in the care of another person's life; it wasn't his nature. He had always trusted his father with that sort of thing._

_But Gohan didn't want to be held responsible for his little brother's death also. So once Goten's terrified screams reached his ears, he jumped into immediate action. He could feel a familiar change in energy run through him, but he paid no mind to it._

_He quickly ran underneath Goten's falling little body and jumped into the air. He rapped his arms around the screaming Goten and continued to fly up into the now grey sky, trying to fight back tears._

_Goten's crying ceased once he noticed he was safe and in the protective arms of his big brother. His tear streaked face held a small smile before he nuzzled into Gohan's warm chest. He could feel Gohan's grip around him tighten protectively._

_Goten's ears twitched as he heard something Gohan said, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you…" He murmured._

_Goten smiled and closed his eyes in hope of drifting into sleep and forgetting this whole thing ever happened. But he was brought out of his sleeping world when he heard Gohan whisper something, something directed at him, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"_

_Goten looked up into his brother's now turquoise eyes and sent his own small smile. It seems Gohan had turned Super Saiyan in his fit of panic. Goten hadn't seen his brother in that form before, his mother called it a 'monster' after all._

_Some people might actually not be able to recognize Gohan when he was like this, but not Goten, he knew his brother's smile, voice and warmth like the back of his small, chubby hand._

_Goten found himself liking this new form Gohan seemed to have, and also found himself reaching up to grab a lock. But he stoped dead in his tracks when Gohan let his hair flop back into its normal form, black._

_His lip quivered momentarily but he suppressed that straight away, settling on a few thoughts, _I wanna be just like big brother!_ He told himself happily. Maybe when he'd get home he could ask his mommy to train him._

_But Goten seemed to drift off to sleep at that moment, snuggled into his brother's chest as he was carried back to the house. He could faintly hear Gohan's restrained sobs in the background, causing him to become slightly confused._

….

He lowered his hand and let the ki slip away from his palm. "I can't do it…" He whispered to himself, quiet enough so not even the Saiyan's perfect hearing could pick it up. _I promised Goten I wouldn't let anything happen to him, and just now I was about to kill him with my own two hands. Why is this so confusing?_

He dropped to his knees and lightly pounded at the ground, tears flowing down his cheeks, he bit them back and raised his head. He noticed the worried eyes of the other Saiyan's and Supreme Kai.

_What are you doing? Kill them and Kill them now!_ -

"I have to fight it…" His face dropped and he began to pound at the ground again, only this time making the ring shake violently. "I HAVE TO FIGHT IT!" He yelled this time, in total frustration.

Goku quickly grabbed the two boys and flew towards the Supreme Kai, Vegeta not too far behind them.

"Amazing…" The Supreme Kai trailed off before a smile made itself known on his lips, "We still might have a chance to save him! Babidi's control is growing weaker, but ever so slowly…"

He turned to the Saiyans as Goku asked a Question, "Anyway we can help?"

The Supreme Kai turned to the ring, "You could bring back important and happy memories to him, give him a strong reason for resisting Badidi's control, but I'm not sure if it will work, no-ones been able to resist Badidi or even Bibidi's magic before…" he trailed off again, getting a few frustrated looks from the rather powerful warriors around him.

"We have to at least try!" Trunks' voice rang through the ears of the Saiyan's and Kai around him, "I'm not absolutely positive on what's going on but I understand the plan, even though I don't know why this would help…"

Goku sighed and put a hand on Trunks shoulder, "We'll explain later ok boys?" They nodded similarity, "Good! Now lets go!" He jumped into the air and floated above the lavender and two black heads of the other Saiyan's and signalled them to follow, "Lets go!" He speed over to Gohan and landed about 5 meters away from him, aware of the gust of energy and wind that will most likely throw him across the arena. The other's landed next to him; this was their only shot at helping Gohan.

……………………………

Videl joined the shocked group; they were shocked at what had happened.

One reason being Gohan's actions and the fact that he didn't act like he cared much about blowing half the stadium to pieces. They were shocked even more now that Gohan seemed to be doubled over in pain, sitting in the middle of a large ring and pounding enough to make the area shake, they could feel it under their feet after all. Three craters pieced into the white mat and quarter of it had been blown to dust from Vegeta and Gohan's earlier bout. Goku and the others seemed to be yelling. The weird purple skinned, white Mohawk styled hair, young man known as Shin sat quietly at the edge of the ring, watching. A look of hope was on his ageless face for some unknown reason, at least to them anyway. Goku, Vegeta, Trunks and Goten's yells of encouragement were unheard to the startled group but they knew they were directed at Gohan; yet again the reason was unknown.

Even after all their experiences from Frieza to Cell they couldn't quite figure out the situation and for some reason they felt like they didn't want to know anything, even now their shocked and yet there've only been observing for about 40mins or so. If they knew everything chances are they'll explode, that would be too much knowledge for them right now.

……………………………

"Don't let Babidi do this to you Gohan!"

His father's voice rang through his ears, he tried to stop himself from twitching, no use. He was so mad at Goku right now; it was him that was fuelling his rage! Goku wasn't helping the situation much. The man's voice overlapped the others, causing poor Gohan to lose more control as each passing second ticked by. Gohan could feel his human side slip away; it was his only chance to be free, the goodness of the human side and the fact that the Saiyan side refused to be controlled was helping a bit, but still… Goku wouldn't leave his mind, he was pushing everything else away, and his uncaring father was all he could think about, it was starting to be the only thing he cared about at the moment too.

Vegeta observed the boy's twitching, he had a faint idea of why the boy was doing this, he did after all get really mad when Kakkarot didn't know why he was being controlled like this, maybe he expected him to know. Something in Vegeta's mind clicked and his eyes bugged out of his head. Kakkarot was the problem!

Acting on his sudden realization he grabbed hold of the other pure-breed Saiyan's waist and thrust him backwards, using his other hand to cover Kakkarot's mouth. That stopped his yelling!

"What Vegeta? I need to help!"

"Your not helping, Kakkarot!" Vegeta yelled into the ear of the earth-raised Saiyan, "I think you're the main reason he's like this, if you keep on 'helping' it will get harder and harder to help him fight this roach of wizard!"

Goku's face saddened as he stared at the ground, "Are you sure Vegeta?"

Vegeta nodded a 'yes' to this question, although his voiced answer wasn't as certain as the nod, "Pretty sure… It's just a guess but we can't take any chances, well have to leave the 'saving' to my brat and your youngest brat! I know I'm no help…"

Goku nodded and waited for Vegeta to let him go, once he did Goku sat down and watched as the two boys continued to yell.

"You can do it Gohan!"

"Fight Big Brother!"

Gohan began to relax and smiled slightly, he was regaining control of his mind.

……………………………

"No!"

Babidi screamed frantically into the ball. "He's gaining control! What am I going to do?" He started to strain his magic in order to take back control of Gohan. At that moment they were about 50/50.

The battle of Gohan vs. Babidi continued.

……………………………

The strain came on full force within the demi-saiyan's mind and he began to thrash. He was now lying on the ground, like he was having a rather disturbing nightmare.

……………………………

No words were shared in this mental battle, it was like Gohan and Vegeta's earlier clash of two of the most powerful attacks known to the Z-gang, Gallic Gun and Kamehameha. This was a battle of willpower, seeing who had more and who had less, the winner was predicted before the battle started, yet these two were evenly matched so it was hard to tell who fate chooses. Babidi seemed to be slightly winning this battle, although Trunks and Goten helping Gohan out was a bit much for the small wizard, if Babidi were to get rid of those two Saiyan brats he would surely win, hands down! The question was of course… How was he going to do it?

Babidi didn't waste time, he was not going to think about it too hard or he might loose concentration completely and Gohan would be lost forever.

Being able to match the Demon King Dabura, even after the magical power up the red skinned king had received, was rather impressive. The fact that Gohan got a huge magical power up as well after his 'awakening' made him Babidi's strongest recruit yet! He didn't know how strong Gohan truly was, after all, the boy was just toying with his opponent before, Vegeta was it? The wizard wasn't too impressed by the eighteen year olds actions, toying with the enemy was not wise by Babidi's standards, but everyone knows when a saiyan makes up their mind they won't go back. The wizard was forced to let that mistake slip. Gohan was giving off a huge energy level now though; the wizard could feel it in his mind, that's the connection you get when you have an enslaved human/saiyan puppet running around, being able to feel his power and emotions! The wizard knew the boy had more power! His latest slave just didn't know how to unlock it right now, which was both good and bad at this point.

The good point was the fact that without the ability to reach this power the boy would surely not have enough willpower and just general power to overcome Babidi.

The bad point was once Babidi won the battle of minds Gohan would surely be too week to stand up to the two pure-breed Saiyan warriors known as Goku and Vegeta if they both attacked him at once, he was going to have to work on that later. Maybe feeding the boy a little more magical energy to power him up would help; he'd have to try that if and when he wins.

Back to the matter at hand, getting rid of those two saiyan children.

……………………………

Gohan was still thrashing, double tasking was a hard job, and being related to Son Goku was NOT an advantage. The guy had a one-track mind! Goku did I mean…

His tasks were rather simply really. Concentrate on driving Babidi out! Listen to the comforting voices of Goten and Trunks and drown out the memories of a one Son Goku, the boy's father too! These may sound easy… but doing them all at the same time was very straining. Of course Babidi was having problems along the same lines but then again the small wizard was more experienced in this sought of thing; the guy had manipulated the minds of millions in his wizard's lifetime after all.

Gohan let Goten and Trunks' encouragement sink in and that helped him continue to struggle in an almost losing battle. His mind began wonder into the topic of his father Goku; the man had stopped chanting a while ago, as did Vegeta. Did he not care? Vegeta was a stubborn guy; he would never help another! He did have his moments though, like in the battle with Brolly. Goku was a different case; he had no excuse! Gohan had to admit that Goku going away did help ease the struggle; Dear ol' dad was his problem after all. The newest Majin was simply at a loss, maybe the man knew he was the problem… or maybe he just didn't care.

It was hard to decide. Gohan simply pushed back these thoughts and didn't think a second more on them; he needed Babidi out!

……………………………

_That's it!_

The small 'lizard turned into a man', Trunks definition of course, had come up with an idea! Surprise, Surprise! If he were to send the oldest Saiyan's and the Kai to a different area on earth then he would be able to get rid of Goten and Trunks, searching through Gohan's mind he figured out their names. The spot had to be millions of miles away though, that would leave the wizard with plenty of time to gain control of the boy's mind again.

Much like Gohan he began to multi-task. Find a far away location and at the same time fight Gohan's willpower, both very hard.

Babidi's control of the bout began to slip away slowly; he had to get that location fast! He began his search on the other side of the world, finding wastelands, deserts, grassy plains, snowy areas and all that. One deserted area caught his attention though, one that all Z-fighters and fans out their remember well, he cackled slightly _Gohan will get a much needed boost here! It will be impossible to resist me after this_. The wizard smirked, getting a raised eyebrow from his right hand man Dabura; obviously he didn't know what the little wizard was thinking at that moment. He chanted those ever-familiar words, even if they were in a low whisper; the effect was all the same.

"Papadapapa!"

……………………………

Goten watched in astonishment. The form of Gohan glowed a few colours, like the steel versions of the rainbow. Trunks had directed his gaze to his dad and that 'third class baka' known as Goku, along with the Supreme Kai who too glowed with steel colours. Goten looking at Gohan and Trunks looking at Vegeta, Goku and Shin. The four glowing warriors suddenly vanished from view of anyone in the stadium, which only contained around 9-10 people at the time anyway.

……………………………

Gohan hadn't noticed the steel colours whirling around him; he was too deep in his struggle.

Can't say the same about the other three though… they stared around in astonishment, it was like they were in a vortex of colours. These colours clouded the arena of the Martial Arts Tournament from their view. The colours swirled around for another minute or so before breaking away and revealing a battle worn field, it was very familiar for Goku and Vegeta, why? They didn't have a clue.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

4615 words

Where are they now? Will Gohan be able to win this struggle on his own without Trunks or Goten? Maybe Vegeta has a trick up his sleeve that will help? Maybe not? The questions rise! Hopefully they will be answered in the next instalment of DragonBall Z: Unexpected Majin!

I know that whole 'Next time on DragonBall Z: Unexpected Majin' is probably a bit weird for you… don't worry about it! I'm just doing it for fun really, and let me tell you! It is defiantly fun! Anyway send in any suggestions for the story in later chapters, it really helps to know what the audience wants. Anyway, Read & Review!

P.S. I updated it on the 19 May 2005! I re-wrote the flashback from this chapter entirely. It has the same idea, just written with more depth and emotion (hopefully). Tell me what you think of it if you get the chance!

_Baka_ means idiot or fool


	4. Delayed

Chapter four – Hold up

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I'm way too young to own Dragonball Z!

Last time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin! Gohan attempts to strangle Trunks but it stopped by Vegeta. He then tries to kill Goten but is stopped by a memory of a promise, that's when Gohan had to fight for control. And now they have been transported to a new place! But where? Will Gohan win the fight for control? And where are they now? Find out today!

……………………………

"Where are we?"

Vegeta turned to Goku and answered his question harshly, "Don't ask me! I'm about as lost as you are…" Vegeta let out a 'humph'. He hated comparing himself to Kakkarot, the third class baka! But it was true; he knew the answer as much as Goku did. The real question here was really why were they here? It didn't really matter where they were, so why did Babidi take his concentration off Gohan just to move them? There had to be a reason! Maybe Goten and Trunks? Were they really helping after all? Apparently… So that answers that question I suppose, still, Vegeta wasn't absolutely positive. He's pretty clued in on this fic isn't he?

……………………………

Goten and Trunks were lost for words! Wouldn't you be though if four people just disappeared into thin air? They had been informed about Instant Transmission before but didn't you have to be touching Goku for that? And didn't he have to at least have two fingers raised to his forehead? Oh boy was this confusing!

"Where'd they go Trunks?" Goten asked his best friend out of the blue, Trunks jumped three feet into the air before realizing that Goten had spoken. Regaining his 'cool' before answering Goten was what the eight-year-old demi-saiyan did first, once done he of course answered Goten.

"I don't know Goten…" He looked around the empty stadium, maybe they were around someplace still, highly unlikely but hey, it's worth a shot. Seeing nothing he started to speak again, "They just vanished into thin air. You've heard of your dads IT before haven't you Goten?"

Goten raised an eyebrow, "IT?"

A vein practically popped out of Trunks' head, _why did Goten have to be so dumb? _Trunks rolled his eyes before answering, "IT Goten! Short for Instant Transmission!"

Goten lit up like a light bulb and began to shake his head up and down like he was on a sugar high, "Yeah! Yeah! I remember that!"

Trunks sighed with relief, "Well it obviously wasn't that! Maybe it was the liza- I mean wizard! But does he even have powers like that? Does he have powers? Maybe he's here!"

"He can't be here Trunks! I think we would have sensed him…" Goten started to look around the stands, maybe the wizard was here! Nope. False alarm. Before Goten turned back to Trunks he spotted the small group of friends and family, no doubt the shocked group mentioned earlier. Goten's Mommy, Trunks Mummy, Videl and all those other people who Goten and Trunks couldn't bother remembering the names of. Goten lit up again. "There's mommy Trunks!" He jumped up and down excitedly, "Your mommy too!"

"Well then stop your jumping and lets go over!" Trunks flew into the air and waited for his chibi friend to follow him. The black haired, Goku look-alike jumped into the air after Trunks. Both boys nodded their heads in union and flew up to the small group.

……………………………

He was losing the battle!

Goten and Trunks weren't there to help, no one was cheering him on anymore. He didn't want to open his eyes past the pain just yet, meaning he didn't have a clue Goten and Trunks weren't even there. He thought they had given up too, they didn't care! This was just great! No one cared about Gohan anymore! What was he to do when no one was reassuring him that people do care! This was how he was losing, without them or anyone else to help Gohan felt that sticking with Babidi could very well be the best solution. Even though when he was with Babidi his worst thoughts and nightmares keep circling around in his mind and giving him amazingly strong headaches. Without Babidi of course he wouldn't be able to take his anger out on the world, he didn't have an excuse for going around and fighting to the death with one of his few worthy sparing partners when he was 'good'. But alas even if it felt like no one cared he had to at least try.

Gohan forced his eyes open and stared at the ground; he was sitting near the edge of a huge and round crater, strangely it was perfectly rounded, no bumps or jagged edges. Being as smart as he was recognized the crater almost instantly, every nightmare he had had in the past seven years was all because of here, this ground! _Oh shit!_ He yelled in his mind, _NO! NO! NO! NOT HERE! _He jolted into the air and stood on his two feet, head thrown back and yelling at the sky. "NO! NO! NO! NOT HERE!" He repeated what he said in his mind. All those memories came back to him, the words '_I'm proud of you son!'_ echoed through his mind. It was too much for him! He was at the Cell Games arena, and this was not helping him fight off Babidi. No, this was making it ten times worse!

……………………………

Babidi smirked and watched the crystal ball. It had a perfect picture of what was going on. The teenager was yelling towards the sky and screaming in pain, he was of course clutching his head and making his own knuckles go slightly white from the pressure. He now was on one knee while doing all this; his head was thrown back too, so he was fully facing the sky.

Dabura was right beside Babidi, watching the events occur. He was slightly intrigued; the boy must have a lot of bad memories connected to this place for him to be acting like that, it was amazing to say the least.

Babidi and Gohan had stopped their mind fight a while ago, Babidi of course won and now Gohan was fighting with himself. For some reason it wasn't even slightly boring to watch, especially for this suffer loving duo.

……………………………

Gohan knew he lost the control fight, but now he was forced to fight back the old memories, the memories of Goku's death. He was responsible for that event after all, or so he thinks, but his father could have come back! Did he not understand that he had a chance? He just made up his mind that Freiza and Cell were his fault and with him gone there wouldn't be any more danger! Was he wrong or what! Sure his theory lasted for 7 years but is that really long enough to live a normal life? No! And now here's Majin Buu, a creature created millions of years before Goku was even born; Goku's death may hold back some enemies, but not all!

Goku, Vegeta and Shin observed Gohan; they knew they couldn't do anything. The two pure-breed Saiyan's still hadn't figured out where they were, although Gohan's screaming was a very good and helpful clue. Yet they still hadn't gotten it! I Guess Vegeta isn't as clued in as we thought… Another scream came from the suffering boy, a little quieter now, that was hopefully a sign he was calming down.

Gohan knew he must look pretty weird right now; screaming at the top of your lungs towards the sky was not a very good first or even last impression. But he couldn't help it; the memories were swirling around in his mind, hyper dive mode right now, to tell you the truth he felt like throwing up. The memories were thankfully disappearing from his mind, even if he was agonizingly slow at getting the job done. It would be only a little while before he could finally calm down, then he would be able to do Dende knows what to his current 'comrades'.

_Only a few more minutes, only a few more minutes!_ He kept repeating to himself in his mind. It was the only thing reassuring for him at the time, it was the only thing he had too and of course it was working! A little…

As predicted after a few more minutes of recurring memories they all died down and allowed him to think straight for once. He couldn't bring himself to his feet fully just yet, but he was getting there! He collapsed to his knees, trying to regain himself. _Got to calm down! Got to calm down!_ He said, or thought as the case may be, this in the same way as before, repeating it over and over again.

It was all over, he could stand, not haunted by memories, he could stand. He stood up ever so slowly and flexed his arm muscles. Once finished he laced his fingers together and shot his palms facing out at the other Z-fighters, the ones he was pointing at all jumped at the sight, Gohan was going to fire a blast! Their guess was returned by a loud cracking sound but no one was hurt, Gohan was just cracking his knuckles. They all sighed with relief. Gohan snickered at this sigh; man was it good to fool around with people's heads, especially the man you rules over the universe and those pathetic pure-breed saiyans.

"What? I'm not going to just kill you out of the blue, not when you're not ready! That would just take the fun out of it."

Goku shivered, this wasn't Gohan at all. He wasn't the Gohan he remembered, happy, go-lucky, kind! This one was pure evil! You could hear it in his voice, and the way he acted! And right now he was acting pretty smug.

"So you want to fight boy?"

Vegeta's voice broke Goku out of his thoughts. He practically jumped upon hearing it. Vegeta was getting very serious; it was like he wanted to kill the brat! Did he? Goku was hoping to save him from Babidi. Once seeing the boy fight so hard, well to say the least it gave him some hope, and boy was he going to grab that hope and drag it from the other side of the world to this very spot if he needed too. Goku also still didn't know where he was yet; it wouldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Uh… where are we?"

Vegeta turned to him and snarled, "I told you I didn't know!"

Goku waved his hands in front of his face frantically, "It was an open question Vegeta! It was directed at anybody!" He let out a nervous laugh and didn't stop waving his hands around, "Maybe the Supreme Kai knows!" He turned to him but the man just shrugged. Goku's hands dropped to the ground, he was going to regret saving this but…

"Gohan?"

Gohan smirked, he knew. "Father! I didn't know you could forget your own death bed!" His smirk turned into a scowl at the end of this sentence.

"Death Bed? For the first time or second time?" He asked, a pure look of confusion on his face, it was priceless.

"Kakkarot!" Goku turned to the only one know calls him 'Kakkarot', Vegeta. "It's the second time you dolt!"

"Oh really? And how did you figure that one out?"

Vegeta just slapped his own face softly, wasn't it obvious? "Think about it!"

Goku had taken that sentence seriously; he looked like he was using every once of brainpower he had that didn't have anything to do with fighting. Goku's face suddenly turned to a smile; finally the guy had a clue. "Now I recognize it! There's the mountain we where all standing on!" He stated, pointing to the left. "And there's where the ring use to be!" He was now pointing to the right, "And there's the big hole that was made in the final showdown of Gohan vs. Cell!" He smiled widely, a true expression of triumph carved into his features. Goku was being so smart!

Vegeta rolled his eyes, although a little relieved. "Finally you get it!"

Goku simply nodded his head in response and both saiyans turned to the Majin 'brat'. Goku stood up and went to the side of Vegeta; he slid into a flawless fighting stance and waited for Vegeta to follow. The prince too slid into a perfect fighting stance and got ready to charge. Gohan of course just stood there; he wanted to fight didn't he? He was the one who practically invited them into it! Wasn't he? Of course he was! Yet Gohan just stood there, eyes crossed, folded arms and his foot tapping the ground lightly. Was the boy mocking them?

To everyone's surprise Gohan raised a finger and pointed at Goku, "Super Saiyan," He said carelessly. Gohan was also right, Goku's hair stood out at all angles, three thick and floppy hairs hung over his face and a small section of his head was flat and rounded, the man's hair was also black. He needed to turn Super Saiyan if he even wanted a slight chance at this.

Goku reached a hand behind his head and laughed nervously, "Guess I forgot about that!" He lightly pulled at his black hair.

Seriousness came over his face and he clenched his fists together and lowered them to the sides of his body. In one short yell gold energy circled Goku's body, turning him Super Saiyan. Goku stretched his hands out to the sides of him; he lowered them slightly and opened up his palms, looking like he was drawing energy from something. A golden wind swirled around the Super Saiyan and lifted his hair up. Once the hair was slightly longer than before it became stiffer and stayed there on its own. His muscles slightly expanded as the last touch to his transformation. There Goku stood, an ascended Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan two if you prefer saying that!

……………………………

"So…" Videl trailed off, she didn't know what to say about what had happened today, but she continued anyway, "Why did Gohan try to strangle you?" She regretted saying that; he probably didn't want to talk about it or something.

To her surprise he simply tapped his chin and let the other hand, and arm connected to it, drop to his side, "Well my dad said he wasn't the same and Gohan said it was orders from that wizard guy. Babidi was it?" He looked over at Goten, the seven year old simply nodded.

"Babidi? Who's Babidi?" Trunks' mother broke out; she pushed Master Roshi and Oolong away so she was standing in the front.

"I told you mom! He's a wizard!"

"Don't talk to me that way young man!"

"Mum!"

"Don't talk back to me!"

Everyone backed away from the arguing family and ran over to Goten; obviously Trunks wouldn't be any help for a while now. They circled the boy, poor kid was the shortest one there, and could now only see peoples stomachs, with the exception of that pig and cat duo Oolong and Puar of course.

Yamcha cleared his throat and went down to eye level with the little Goku look-alike. "So let me get this straight…" He began suddenly, "Gohan strangled Trunks because some wizard called Babidi told him too?" Goten nodded.

Videl then cut in, "But isn't Babidi the bad guy?"

The others gasped, the bad guy? Gohan was working for the bad guy!

Goten nodded to this question too, "That's the part Trunks and me don't understand!" The others didn't want to correct his grammar on the whole 'Trunks and me' thing, it should be 'Trunks and I' you know… Anyway on with the story!

Now this was the other people's turn to nod, Goten suddenly cut in though, "Daddy said he'll tell us later though! But they just disappeared before he got a chance to do so!" This last part came out as a whine; he obviously wanted to know.

……………………………

Gohan knew this would be a challenge, fighting two Super Saiyan twos was not a walk in the park at his current level. They had already surpassed him when he was normal, like normal as in NOT a Majin. Although he had gotten a good power up from Babidi, even though he felt it wasn't enough to take these two on at once. Toying with Vegeta was pretty easy, Toying with Goku? A little harder, toying with both? Impossible! He was going to have to go all out! Use every ounce of power he had in his teenage body, this was going to be a very hard for both parties.

Seems Gohan was taking Goku's bluff seriously, the man had no intention on fighting his own son, and he wanted Gohan to back away! Give up and come back to their side, the right side. But it looks like the boy had every intention on fighting his father and Vegeta; he must really want to kill them! It was kind of scary too; Gohan had never acted like this before. He was defiantly different.

Vegeta didn't really care what happened to the brat, he just wanted to kill Gohan for making him look like an idiot when they were fighting earlier. Thinking of that! He was pretty tired right now! He needed a senzu bean!

Vegeta suddenly dropped out of Super Saiyan and turned to Goku, "Kakkarot! I need a senzu bean! NOW!"

Goku sweat dropped and handed the bag to Vegeta, "Ok Ok! I hope you realize I only had two left though Vegeta!"

"I understand Kakkarot! But I want to fight at my best with Babidi's latest puppet!" He smirked and turned to Kakkarot's oldest brat as he untied the bag and reached in for a senzu bean. At that comment, you know the 'puppet' one, Gohan's ki spiked slightly but dropped again, although his ki still had risen a bit. Obviously he didn't like that, Saiyan or Human that was still hurtful! Once Vegeta found a bean he lifted the green oval out of its bag and propped it into his mouth. Vegeta's power instantly came back to him, his cuts disappeared, his bruises too, the only signs of his previous battle were the constant blood stains covering his clothes and the fact that his clothes were pretty much shreds, wearable though. He started to power up, enjoying his returning power.

Vegeta faced the sky and let the power overwhelm him. His hair became blond and his eyes became a normal green. He then allowed more power to flow into him by reaching up to the sky. His body began to glow and his muscles expanded, but not by too much. His hair then waved slightly before pricking up and becoming a darker shade of gold, his eyes stayed the same for this though, their normal green. Finally the last of the Super Saiyan's stood, ready to charge into battle.

Their battle was going to be good; it was going to be to the death.

……………………………

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The wizard jumped up and down. The Saiyan's were going to fight! He was going to get his precious energy! He stopped jumping and turned to Dabura, his body in a 'Mr. Burns' style, you know the guy from 'The Simpsons'. If you don't know what that looks like I'll tell you! He was hunched over slightly with his arms bended slightly and his hands hanging at the ends loosely. Yep! That's Mr. Burns! "Isn't it wonderful Dabura? We'll have Majin Buu before we know it!" He then turned back to the ball.

Dabura looked angrily at his Masters back. Why was this boy getting so much attention? Dabura couldn't help but feel he should kill the teenager! Maybe Gohan was going to turn on them and kill him and Master Babidi. Dabura simply had a negative feeling towards the boy, and Dabura was never wrong. That boy was going to be their downfall! After all Gohan still has some control…

……………………………

"Come on Goten! I can feel their powers levels right now! They're getting ready to battle! We have to go!"

Trunks hoped from one foot to the other frantically, he had to get some of that action! Goten nodded his head in response and let out a loud "A huh! A huh!" He started to hover in the air, "I'm coming Trunks!"

"Oh no your not young man!" An enraged Chi-Chi yelled, yanking at her son's ear and pulling him back down to the ground. "No son of mine is going anywhere!"

"That goes double for you Trunks!" Bulma butted in, as mad as Chi-Chi.

Both boy's sighed and sat down, their mothers watching closely. How were they going to get out of this?

……………………………

All three Saiyans jumped at each other, but a low yell stopped them from continuing.

"Wait!" It was the Supreme Kai.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

What does Supreme Kai want? How are Goten and Trunks going to get away from their mothers? Is Dabura right when he says that Gohan will be their downfall? Or is he just jealous? It's a possibility… Anyway find out next time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin!

You probably think the flashback from the other chapter was a bit weird, but it was all I could come up with! If you want me to change it I'll think about, but giving me suggestions could help. Sorry about the translation thing below… Just helping out with some of the Japanese words I write. Don't worry there wont be too many; I just think that saying 'third class idiot' doesn't sound as good, so I'll stick with Baka! Also remember that I won't continue this story without enough reviews, I need to know people are reading this! So Read and Review!

_Baka_ means idiot or fool

_Chibi _means dwarf or someone small, I think…


	5. Helping

Chapter five – Helping

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I now and never will own Dragonball Z

Last time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin! Everybody is being held up in the last episode! Supreme Kai delays the older Saiyans, while Bulma and Chi-Chi delay the younger ones. Also is Dabura really right about Gohan being the downfall of the whole plan to revive Majin Buu and Conquer the Universe? Find out today!

……………………………

"What do you want Kai?" Vegeta asked him impatiently

All three warriors stayed in Super Saiyan, although let their guard down to listen to the Supreme Kai; I guess Gohan wanted to hear what he had to say too. The Kai walked up to Goku and Vegeta, putting his on Goku's shoulder.

"This is no time for fighting! If you do this now Majin Buu will surely be released!" He argued.

"No Kai!" Vegeta yelled at him again.

Shin just stood there wide-eyed, "You can't be serious! You're actually going to fight him?" Goku nodded slowly while Vegeta nodded without regret in his form. The Supreme Kai sighed and raised two fingers to the door below them. "Well if your going to fight I might as well release Majin Buu now…" Two balls of white energy flickered at the tips of his fingers, "This may be the only thing I can do."

……………………………

"No! Majin Buu can't be released now!"

He connected to Gohans mind and started to yell at him, - _Kill the Kai! Kill the Kai!_ – Now it was Babidi's turn to shiver as he received a reply, Gohan simply laughed.

_- Forget about the Kai! I only have my 'father' on the mind! I couldn't care less about him right now! Get someone else to do your dirty work_ –

_Why you little brat! Don't disobey me!_ -

He raised his hands to the glass ball and got ready to send a mental shock, Dabura cut in though. "Let the Kai in!" He boomed to his Master, "I'm sure he can't be too much to worry about, let him be the first one Majin Buu kills!" Babidi laughed happily and evilly at that suggestion.

"Your right Dabura! What do I have to loose! I'll let that menacing Kai through!" He laughed again and raised his hands once more to the crystal ball. He then lowered them to the ground, and as a response, the door lowered to the ground too.

……………………………

Shin let the energy leave his fingers and stared at the retreating door. "He's letting us in!" He yelled in surprise. He then turned to the Saiyan's. "Anyone coming?" He asked them, Goku slowly raised his hand and smiled.

"I'll come!" This may be his only chance to get out of this fight. He turned his back to the fight and trotted over to the Supreme Kai. The Kai nodded at him and got ready to jump down the hole. Two feet planted securely into Goku's back, sending the poor Saiyan flying. He skidded across the ground; face first, and finally stops when he hits a large rock.

"You aren't going anywhere!"

Goku turned around to see who had hit him; it was Gohan obviously.

Goku spit out some dirt and stood up. He dusted himself off and walked to the side of Vegeta, "Fine!" He spat out some more dirt and sighed, "Sorry Supreme Kai but I guess I'm not going either…"

"Don't you understand what your decision will lead to Gohan? The destruction of the earth that's what!" The Supreme Kai was getting impatient with these saiyans; he had honestly never worked with a more stubborn group.

Gohan smirked and shrugged to the Supreme Kai's warning, "It may just be my saiyan side talking but…" he turned to the Kai, "I don't care!"

Shin lowered his head and mentally kicked himself, he decided to respect the Saiyan's decision and turned to the door, "Very Well…" He said before jumping down the hole

……………………………

Trunks kicked a stray stone as he watched his mother and friends do nothing in particular. His best friend Goten was busy playing with a butterfly that was flying around the stands. Great! Trunks was stuck thinking of a plan for escape, and there's Goten! Playing with a pathetic butterfly! Life can be unfair.

His mother turned around suddenly before turning back around, talking to the other group again, she did that every few minutes! She was truly bent on making sure her only son was kept away from the fight. Chi-Chi did the same thing from time to time; only she was watching Goten. Mothers never give up do they?

But back to the point! A plan. They could just run. I mean the only one around here fast enough to catch them was eighteen, but Super Saiyan could probably take care of her. I guess that was their best bet! Running! They might be grounded forever without any food for a year if they went through with this. But it was sounding serious! Gohan needed 'saving' at one point, they had to help!

Not thinking a second more on it Trunks walks over to Goten calmly and grabs his arm. He hovers undetected into the sir and looks down at Goten; the boy simply nods and follows him into the slow moving air. Another sync nod signals for the boys to burst into Super Saiyan and almost as instantly as that they started heading for the others at top speed. Within a few seconds all that could be seen of them was two golden dots high in the sky.

"TRUNKS!"

"GOTEN!"

Came the ear-shattering scream of two steaming human mothers.

……………………………

The wind whisked past his free falling body as he made his speedy decent down the narrow tube known as the centre of Babidi's ship. His Mohawk hair flapped in the wind, along with his clothes. The blue and black walls went by so fast, before he knew it a bright yellow light was seen below him. Using his ki to slow down his fall, he landed gracefully on the tiled floor of a small white room. Large quantities of warriors were scattered around the area, a few scared and a few slightly brave.

The Supreme Kai sighed and reached into the air, a smirk then crossed his face as the weak fighters backed into the walls and the brave took a few steps back. His body started to glow a bright white, throwing the enemies that were closes to him fly back, letting out a loud yelp as they bit the white wall behind them. The rest backed up even more. Tiny spheres of yellow light erupted from his fingertips and flew around the room, destroying anyone in their path. Smoke filled the room before a weird sound was heard, coming from under his feet; he backed up as the door that was once under him lowered once more.

He smiled to himself before looking down the bottomless pit and jumping head first into it. Babidi is so close.

……………………………

All three Saiyans stood still, watching each other, wondering who will make the first move. Being the arrogant saiyan he was, Vegeta charged Gohan first; the battle was on.

With his fist raised in the air he ran at Gohan, letting his power rise with every step he took. The energy and wind around him picked up stray rocks and sand that were littered around the area, forcing Gohan to close his eyes and raise his arm in defence to the swirling, sandy wind. Seeing that Gohan was defenceless, Vegeta lowered his fists and brought them together. As his next action he slammed both fists into the boys abdomen. Gohan skidded across the ground, although without falling over. Once regaining control of his skidding body he ran at Vegeta. In the blink of an eye Gohan was right in front of Vegeta and had already thrown a powerful fist to the Saiyan princes' face. Vegeta was thrown into a nearby mountain instantly; Goku took this time to attack.

Goku threw a blast at Gohan's back, gaining his attention. Gohan spun around and smiled at his fathers face, finally he was going to get his revenge.

Gohan jumped up and started rushing at Goku through the air with his foot raised. Goku dodged at the last second and threw three more blasts at his son while Gohan was going past him. Gohan was thrown to the side and created a large crater where he had landed. He spit out some dirt, mixed with blood and spit, and headed for his father again, raising his power as he went. Gohan and Goku, father and son, began to exchange blows with each other brutally. Their fists clashed, and then their knees and it went in a pattern from there. Goku managed to gain the upper hand and sent a deadly fist at his son's vulnerable chest. Gohan simply grabbed the fist and threw his father towards the ground. Goku caught himself before impacting and watched as Vegeta returned to his side, now they could fight him together.

Instantly they both started heading for Gohan. Once about three meters from the youngest saiyan they split apart and headed to the opposite sides of Gohan. With one left and one right they both started to throw blasts at the boy, Vegeta's green and Goku's blue. They quickly raised their hands as Gohan started to head up, making the blasts follow him. Gohan wasn't expecting that and was hit full force by their attacks, throwing him up further into the air.

Vegeta flew at Gohan again while Goku stayed back, charging up a Kamehameha.

Gohan was dodging Vegeta's attacks rather easily; the Saiyan would at times land a blow but Gohan just punched him back to even it out again. Vegeta landed a hard punch to Gohan's face and sent him into Goku's line of fire, just as Gohan recovered, the kamehameha was let loose.

Goku was aiming straight up in the air, holding the blast back, waiting for the right moment to throw it at his son. Once he saw it, the blast erupted from his upturned palms and streamed across the sky in a beautiful blue light towards Gohan.

Even though the blast was only strong enough to destroy a city, it did a lot of damage to Gohan's half saiyan body, any stronger and he would be dead right now, I guess Goku didn't want to kill him just yet. He let out a long and loud yell as the energy ripped away at his flesh. He could feel his skin opening up in large gashes all over his body. He closed his eyes in pain and let fresh tears stream down his face, how could his own father hurt him like this. The Kamehameha finally died down and revealed a rather bloody Gohan. He was bleeding heavily and supporting deep burning wounds all over his body, the boy started to sway around in the air, he was feeling very woozy. Gohan suddenly lost consciousness and fell from the sky at an amazing speed. Gohan impacted with the ground with a thud and let out an unconscious scream before lying limb, a pool of blood and a rather sticky mess circling around his bleeding and unconscious form.

……………………………

Babidi felt his latest minion begin to slip away slowly. He was losing! If he didn't help him now the boy would surely die.

Not thinking a second more he ran over to his crystal ball and stared into it, letting out a gasp he took in how Gohan was. There the boy lay, unconscious, bleeding and dying, he had to do something about that. He raised one hand to the ball and started to hum into it, it suddenly glowed in a bright green light and revealed an almost healed Gohan. The only thing Babidi really did was heal his power to about 50 and stop the bleeding from continuing, Gohan was thankful for it though.

……………………………

Goku was shocked at what he had just done. He had underestimated Gohan's strength and almost killed him. Now he had to watch as his oldest son struggled to stay alive, all because of him!

A bright green light suddenly erupted from the unconscious boy, sending Goku a few feet back as he slid across the ground. Once the light disappeared Gohan's body was seen once more, he didn't look any different, the blood was no longer spilling all over the ground anymore though.

His son started to stir, which made Goku curious. He walked over to Gohan's fallen form and knelt down, then he began to wave a hand above the boy's head in a pathetic attempt to wake him up. Gohan's eyes suddenly shot open and came face to face with Goku. His face twisted into an expression of anger and he reached up, planting a solid punch into his father's chest, sending Goku flying higher into the air. The saiyan caught himself and stared at his son, before he could think Gohan had thrust both his feet into his unprotected stomach, making him double over in pain. Gohan then grabbed his father's head and flipped him into the ground. Goku slowly got up, only to be greeted by a foot pushing him into the ground. Gohan seemed very angry.

Goku rolled out of the way of an incoming fist and kicked Gohan in the side, which sent him to ground. He quickly ran over to Vegeta and sat on a rock near him, trying to regain his breath.

"He's… fighting… a lot more… brutally… now," he said between puffs.

……………………………

The ball suddenly started to glow a bright pink. At that moment the Supreme Kai dropped into the small, dark room and stared around. The room was empty, except for the giant glowing ball, very creepy… Wait! Glowing ball? Oh no!

"Welcome Supreme Kai!"

A cackle followed the words as Supreme Kai swung around, immediately coming face to face with Babidi; Dabura was standing right at his side with an evil smirk crossing his face. Shin scowled and turned back to the pink ball. He ran up to it and gasped as he saw the meter, it was full.

"Just in time for Majin Buu to be released!" He cackled again, "But we don't want him to feel cramped, lets take this outside!"

The room instantly began to spin before revealing the rocks and dirt outside. He stood there silent and watched the ball as it opened up and let light pink smoke streamed out and litter the sky. It was a scary sight to behold as the smoke started to take form. The smoke took the shape of a large ball. Arms began to grow, followed by legs. A head suddenly popped out and clothes began to form. A flowing cape was the first thing formed, baggy pants with an 'M' labelled belt were the next things created. Colour started to flow into the creature as the once pure pink creature's cape became purple and his pants become white, the belt turned black while the part where the 'M' was placed turned yellow.

"BUUUUUU!"

……………………………

Vegeta and Goku ran at the weakened Gohan. Goku continued to hold back his power against his son; he didn't want to hurt him again. Vegeta got to the boy first and hit him hard in the face. Gohan fell to the ground but thrust his feet up in an effort to kick Vegeta's chest, he missed. Suddenly a powerful boot connected with his face and sent him into the dirt, a large crater was created from under him. He grabbed the foot, which was still pressing against his head and lifted it into the air. From there he threw Vegeta into the ground and jumped out of his body shaped crater. It only took Vegeta a second to recover before charging at the boy once more. He kicked at Gohan's abdomen but missed, he quickly jumped into the air and dodged a blast Gohan had sent at him. He spun around and sent his own blast towards the ground where Gohan stood, the boy simply did a backwards hand spring to get out of the way and landed gracefully on his feet.

A certain ki signature made all of them shiver, an action always done when an evil creature is present.

Each stopped in their tracks and looked around; trying to determine which direction it had come from. Their gaze fell to the west side of the area. They suddenly felt the Supreme Kai's power spike up in order to give him more speed; he had tried to escape.

"Its Buu…" Gohan said quietly.

"Someone has to go and stop him!" Goku quickly yelled to Vegeta. The prince simply nodded and speed away as fast as he could, it was surprising how he hadn't even argued about it.

Goku then turned to Gohan and motioned for his son to fight him in a mocking sort of way. Gohan took the invitation and charged him.

……………………………

Buu started to hop around happily as he watched the Kai struggle to get up.

"Pow! Pow! Pow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The sound of Buu screeching like this echoed through the Kai's ears. It was sickening to see the creature so happy, joyous of someone else's pain. He rolled over onto his back and tried to pull himself up using his legs; he was able to lift himself a bit before dropping to the ground again. He let out a soft "Ow" before trying again, no use. He sighed and lay there for a while, hoping to regain some of his strength.

"Finish him off!" Babidi yelled impatiently at the pink creature known as Buu. Buu simply looked at him then walked in the other direction, ignoring his 'Master'. Steam started to stream out of his ears as he watched his father's creation walk around, so carefree, sickening!

Dabura put a hand on his Masters shoulder, "He's too dangerous to control Master! We have to kill him!" The demon king practically yelled.

Babidi turned to him and gave him a surprised look. "What are you saying Dabura? I have been trying for centuries to find the right amount of energy to released Majin Buu and when I finally get it you want me to destroy him?" Dabura simply nodded, totally aware that his Master wasn't going to listen to him, but ignoring it, "He's like Gohan…" The wizard said out of the blue, "He will obey me soon!"

……………………………

The boys had never been more serious; they knew they had to help Gohan. They didn't slow down for a second during their flight, not saying a word to each other. Goten and Trunks were too focused on where they were going than each other, so it was almost like they didn't know the other was there.

The blue sea below them rippled as their shining aurous zipped across the water and caused it to splash other their small bodies. They ignored it completely.

_We're coming Gohan_

……………………………

Bulma sighed as she watched her son disappear, she had to do something or she would explode. She needed to help out! If only she new what was going on…

She flopped down into a nearby seat and stared at the stadium from where see sat. The giant hole at the side of the stadium was all her mind seemed to be interested in. She stared at it for a few more moments before realizing something. Maybe there was a way she could help, _The Dragonballs!_ Her mind continued to yell those two promising words.

She jumped from her seat, startling everyone.

"The Dragonballs!" She screeched, "We can wish every one who was killed by Gohan back to life! That'll be our way of helping the situation!" She reached into her left pocket and pulled out a yellow capsule. "We will need a bigger spot to release the chopper through…" She started to tap her chin while leaning against the railing. "We better take this outside."

"So where off to Capsule Corp. then?" Master Roshi questioned out of the blue.

Bulma simply nodded to the question and started to run for the exit of the stadium, she was sure in a hurry. Everyone shrugged and started walking after Bulma. Yamcha stayed behind for a second muttering, "Same old Bulma." He rolled his eyes after that statement before making the effort to catch up with the others.

……………………………

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Letting out a yell he brought his fists down onto Goku's head. The adult saiyan went sailing downward. He caught himself and landed gracefully on the ground, he raised his hands above his head and caught an incoming ki blast. Thinking quickly he threw it back into air where Gohan caught it like Goku did. The boy started to pour more energy into it before sending it back at his father. The man again caught it again and sent it back; Gohan didn't bother to pour any more energy into it and battered it back at Goku. It went like this for a while before Gohan decided to bat it away, sending it into a nearby mountain. Gohan didn't wait for Goku to recover from the 'volleyball game' and flew at him.

He didn't attack Goku straight away though, he landed on the ground with his hands and did a hand spring to meet Goku at eye level. He smirked and punched his father right in the gut. Goku fell back and started to clutch his stomach, he raised a hand weakly and sent off a ki blast. Gohan disappeared out of view just before he was hit and reappeared behind Goku, he raised a hand and sent it at his own father's back, but Goku disappeared just in time and struck Gohan in the side effectively. Gohan landed on his knees in the dirt, puffing loudly and coughing up blood. Goku sighed and watched as his son stood up and tried to kick his legs, he of course jumped up, dodging it, and kicked his son in the head, sending the boy flying into the mountain. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

……………………………

'BOOM!'

The capsule landed on the ground and exploded before their eyes, revealing a state of the art yellow helicopter.

Bulma ran up to the door and starting searching in her pocket for the key. Upon finding it, she pulled it out of her pocket and slid it into the lock of the door. She jiggled it around impatiently until she heard a satisfying 'click' come from the door handle. She smiled and moved her hand over the knob. She then pushed the handle down and yanked the door away, making a soft 'crunch' sound ring through the ears of the people around her. She jumped in and practically leapt into the driver seat, with a smile she motioned for the others outside to enter, oblivious to their questioning looks. _Guess she just likes to help! _Everybody said in their minds before hoping into the chopper and taking a seat. Videl was the last to enter. Just as she spotted a seat Bulma spoke softly to her.

"Close the door behind you Videl honey!"

Videl nodded and turned to the door, slowly reaching out a hand and pulling the door towards her. Once it clicked shut she stared over at the seat she was planning on sitting in before being interrupted, she smiled when noticing it wasn't occupied and made her way over to it happily. She set herself down on a seat at the back and buckled herself in. She slouched into her chair instantly.

"So this is what 'THE' Bulma Briefs is like."

Smoke started to flow out of the bottom of the copter. It lifted into the air and took off, leaving Papaya Island and the World Martial Arts Tournament in the dust.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

So Majin Buu has been released… Can anyone stop him? What's Vegeta going to do once he gets the new villain? And is their any way for Goten and Trunks to help, now that Gohan has lost the battle for control? What about Bulma and the rest? Are they really going to wish for everybody who died at the tournament back to life? Will it really help? Find out today on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin!

Thanks Sk8er-kitty888 for telling me a good way to get more reviews! Totally forgot about letting accountless reviewers, well, review! Also the translation for _Chibi_ is actually runt or dwarf, thanks New Dye for telling me that! Thanks to me other reviewers too! Also please tell me if you read this! I really appreciate it! Read and Review!


	6. Father versus Son

Chapter six – Father vs. Son

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: You guys must be pretty stupid if you think I own Dragonball Z!

Last time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin! Bulma and the others are on their way to collect the dragonballs! Goten and Trunks are on their way to the battle and Majin Buu has been released! What will happen to these parties as they try to help the cause? Find out today!

……………………………

"So where do we go first?" Chi-Chi asked as she lay lazily on the chair behind the pilots.

Bulma leaned back as she stared at the green bleeping radar in her hand; she started to tap it lightly. "I've got nothing ye –" She stopped her sentence as a small orange dot appeared on the screen, "I got one!" She yelled happily, jumping out of her chair in excitement. "It's north west of this current location…" She ran over to a window on the western side of the ship and peered out of it, "On that island," She pressed a finger against the glass to indicate where she meant. It was an island covered in countless trees, with a large mountain placed right in the middle of it.

Yamcha, who was the pilot at the time, looked in that direction out of the corner of his eye and smiled when seeing it. In one sharp turn he was now headed for the small island, they would have their first dragonball soon.

……………………………

They started to exchange blows wildly through the air. They split apart suddenly and jumped at each other again, their fists clashing together as the got within range. They both extended their fingers and laced them together, bringing their free hand up and doing the exact same thing with that hand. They started to push forward to try and overpower the other, they continued to go back and forth as one gained the advantage then lost to the other. They let go again and backed away from each other.

The boy snarled and sent a kick for his 'father's' head. Goku grabbed his leg and flung him for the ground. Gohan flipped to land safely on his feet and looked up at his father. Goku started to make a decent towards the ground with his fists clenched together; they came down on Gohan's head and slammed him into the dirt below his feet. Goku jumped back, into the air and simply levitated there.

Gohan quickly picked himself off the ground and jumped at his father once more. Goku fazed out of the way of the incoming punch and slammed him in side. His son caught himself quickly in the air and sent a punch toward Goku; Goku fazed out again and went to slam his son in the head. Gohan backed up and let his father sail past him; he kicked Goku in the back as the man went past. Goku didn't fly far and swung around to face his oldest son.

They stared each other down, floating there aimlessly. Their eyes locked with each other, each determined.

Goku's dark green eyes held question towards his son's actions, Gohan couldn't help but laugh inwardly at that, he should know. They also held sadness, sadness because he was in a battle to the death with his own son, a boy he came to visit on this one special occasion.

Gohan's turquoise eyes were of total anger! It seemed as though Gohan's total opinion of the man he came to know as 'dad' was turned upside down in only a few short hours. He just couldn't trust his 'father' anymore, he had realized what type of man Goku was and that was one thought he'd carry around forever, his father didn't care.

"Why?" Gohan asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Why?" Goku repeated his son's question, a pure look of confusion on his face.

"Why did you go? You had a chance to come back!"

Goku shook his head, "Didn't I explain this when I died?"

"What? That all threats to earth were because of you," Gohan spat a slim piece of saliva, "Bullshit!"

Goku was taken aback by Gohan's language, Gohan had never talked like that to anyone, he must be really REALLY upset.

Goku didn't really know what to say to that statement, he was positive he left because of all the evil he lured into the world, what was his son talking about? That wasn't 'bullshit'! He flinched at that word; it just became his most hated word in the English language to him. "H…How is th…that 'bullshit?" He managed to ask, even though his voice was a bit shaky.

"Because you were wrong! What do you say about Majin Buu? Is he here because you're a saiyan? Or is he out for revenge?"

Goku shook his head in a 'no' gesture without saying a word.

"Lets just face it Goku, you were wrong!" Goku, why did Gohan have to call him Goku?

Goku felt his body go numb as he continued to stare at his son, he let out a sigh, "I thought what I was doing was right,"

Gohan snarled to that answer and began to attack his 'father' again with unforgiving force and in a full fit of rage. Goku felt the suddenly spike in Gohan's energy and began to defend himself weakly, he just couldn't keep his mind on the fight! Gohan's words rang in his head, 'Bullshit'. That word just wouldn't leave his mind. He let out a scream and sent Gohan flying back a bit. Goku's power did an amazing increase, which surprised Gohan. Goku's energy crackled loudly around him as he turned to his son. Gohan just smirked and went to attack him again.

Goku dodged a punch aimed for his head easily and grabbed the powerful hand, yanking it down and sending it toward the ground, along with the body attached to it of coarse. Gohan ploughed into the ground, unmoving for a second before bursting out of the human-sized crater in a bright yellow light. Again Gohan attempted to punch his father, but the man dodged it again and sent a deadly kick to the boy's stomach, sending him flying to the side. What had gotten into his father? He was fighting without care! Gohan just didn't understand it.

He pushed the question aside and flew at his father, raising a hand and powering up as he moved. His energy began to ripple around him as he advanced, expanding. Goku stood his ground to the rushing wind attacking him at all sides and simply watched as his son got closer and closer. Just when Gohan was about 2 meters away from Goku the man raised his foot and watched as Gohan doubled over in pain from the impact of the blow. Gohan grabbed the foot and pushed himself away, staring at his father questionably as he descended backwards, fighting off the agonizing pain coming from his stomach.

"That all you got?" Goku taunted carelessly.

Gohan smirked; he was finally going to get the fight he always wanted, "Just getting started,"

……………………………

A glimmer was seen above them, an orange glimmer that is. Upon further inspection they noticed a small dragonball sitting on a high branch at the top of one of the trees.

"Ok Yamcha!" Bulma said, startling everybody, "Since you can fly go get that dragonball!"

Yamcha gulped and nervously nodded, "Ok Bulma…"

He turned to the tree and started to float up, watching as the branches went by. The dragonball came quite clear to him as he neared it, it seemed to be stuck on one of the highest branches. He didn't care though; he could fly after all. Once he passed the very last branch before the dragonball he spotted a tiny monkey. He looked at it and smiled, it was so cute! Makes any human want to hug it, no saiyans I'm sure. He ignored the monkey after that and continued to advance. He landed gracefully on the branch and reached out a hand towards the dragonball. He felt a sudden tugging of his spiky hair. He looked up slowly and noticed a small monkey on his head, it wasn't the same monkey as before, he could tell, it was brown with a creamy stomach, and the other monkey was just brown.

He winced at every pull, letting out a soft "ow," each time the creature tugged at his pitch-black hair. Getting sick of it he reached for the monkey with one of his hands but it just bat it away instantly with one of its sharp monkey claws. He held his hand defensively as the blow took affect, giving him an aching hand. Getting a little frustrated now he reached out with both his hands and began to try and pry the monkey off, no use. The small furry creature suddenly latched onto Yamcha's face, making it impossible to see past the small animal's creamy belly. He stood up suddenly and continued to pull at the monkey, but it never loosened it's grip.

He suddenly slipped off the branch and began to fall out of the tree. In a full fit of panic the monkey jumped off Yamcha's head and latched onto the tree again. "Blasted Monkey," he whispered before starting to try and reached a tree branch to stop his fall, he just couldn't seem to reach it though.

"You can fly dummy!"

Yamcha looked down at his friends below as the came closer and closer. Suddenly what they said registered in his mind.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about th -"

Before he could even finish that sentence let alone concentrate his ki, he impacted with the ground harshly, leaving a dizzy Yamcha sitting in a small human-sized crater. I tell you, if he weren't a super trained human who was used to a fall like that he'd be dead right now.

"Yamcha! We told you to fly!" Bulma said, hauling him up.

Yamcha simply laughed nervously and looked at the upturned ground, "Well you see, I kinda…" He laughed nervously again and started twiddling with his thumbs, "…forgot."

Chi-Chi came up and slapped him in the head, "I swear! You men can't do anything right!" She walked over to the tree and looked it up and down, "Easy enough."

Yamcha pouted at that statement and began to fiddle with the dirt, "It wasn't my fault exactly… It was those darn monke –" He looked over to Chi-Chi and instantly stood up, "What do you mean easy enough?" He asked, cutting himself off from his last sentence.

She poked the tree, "Just what it sounds like! I'm going to take a shot at getting that dragonball!" She yelled into the branches.

She nodded her head and latched onto the tree effortlessly. Chi-Chi began to scurry up the tall trunk until she came to first branch, she jumped onto it, her footing a bit wobbly, and stared up at the next branch. She smiled and jumped for it, instantly grabbing hold and hauling herself up so she was now sitting on the next branch. She cautiously got to her feet and continued that pattern until she was at the branch just under the one that held the dragonball. She paused there to inspect the branch above her, it was slightly higher up than the others but she could do it. She pounced up and managed to grip it with her fingers before slipping off. In her decent she managed to grab the previous branch and pull herself back into the tree.

She decided not to risk it again and simply grabbed the trunk of the tree again and went to get up that way. It was a success! She reached for the ball while the cream and brown monkey from before hugged the sphere protectively and stared daggers at the 'attacker'. Chi-Chi just huffed and returned the monkey's glare with full force, causing the small creature to whimper quietly and back away from the ball. She smiled at the creature's reaction and grabbed the dragonball from its spot.

She smiled again, and started to jump from branch to branch down. When she landed on the ground she lifted the ball into the air, showing the orange sphere off to everybody. The 6 red stars on it glistered in the light; making it obvious the stars were there.

"Well that's number one!"

She shook it, casing little pieces of dirt to fall onto the grounds after being stuck to it. Giving it a last little rub she threw it over to Videl and started to walk over to Bulma.

Videl caught it in her hands and admired it for a second; she had never seen anything like it!

"You coming Videl?"

Videl looked up to see Chi-Chi in the doorway of the air vehicle waving and yelling. She nodded and stuffed the ball into one of her pockets for easier carrying. _These people are weird_ was her last thought before she made her way over to the helicopter.

……………………………

A pain in the stomach caused the terrible Majin Buu to look down innocently. There, impaling his podgy pink chest was a thick pointy spear of about 3 meters long. He eyed it for ages, trying to figure out how it got there.

"Dabura what are you doing?"

"Master! I'm only trying to protect you!"

Majin Buu swung around to eye his attacker, the long metal pole still wedged in his stomach. It was that funny looking demon guy. The red, skinned creature turned to Majin Buu, smiling at him.

"How does it feel Majin Buu?"

The question didn't have much affect on him. Majin Buu just shrugged his shoulders and got a good grip on the spear, he yanked it out easily and to everyone's surprise, blood didn't follow it, could this creature not bleed? The jelly like substance around the hole began to wobble before joining together, making Majin Buu unscathed. The demon simply gawked at the sight. The Majin began to ponder over something.

"Now should you be candy or chocolate?" The creature asked himself innocently.

"What are you talking about?" Dabura questioned.

"Chocolate!" It screamed gleefully, making both Dabura and Babidi raised an eyebrow in question while Supreme Kai, who had seen the creature do this countless times stared at the dirt, not wanting to see the death of another one of Buu's victims.

A bright pink light shot out of the creature's antenna, shooting Dabura head on and lifting him into the air. The demon king screamed in agony as his arms were forced to his sides while his legs were suddenly fused together. His face took a neutral look as the Demon suddenly turned a rather dark brown. The dark substance suddenly shrank to a mouth-size height and dropped to the ground as the pink beam died down.

Buu bounded over to Dabura happily and picked the mini version of the demon up and snapped its head off in his mouth, enjoying the taste of it, "Chocolate!" It screamed gleefully again, stuffing the rest of the chocolate-turned demon into his mouth.

……………………………

His hands began to flick around as the feeling in them became real again, the stony prison that had once encased him disappeared, making him regain colour to his body and clothes in the process. He let the fact that he could move again sink in as he started to punch the air in order to make sure he wasn't dreaming; he wasn't a garden statue anymore!

Krillin ran a hand through his newly grown, thick black hair; it felt so soft and real against his fingertips. He looked to his left and spotted Piccolo staring at his own green hands in shock, the namek's gaze kept on going up and down his arms as though he had never seen them before, _I guess Dabura spit on him as well_. He shook the thought off and walked over to his namekian friend. As he came eye to eye with Piccolo he asked the one question that had been buzzing around in both of their minds.

"What happened?"

Piccolo never left Krillins gaze as he answered the former monks question, although it was only a guess he felt it was all too true.

"Someone must have killed Dabura…"

Krillin nodded to that answer and stretched his hands up into the air before bringing them back behind his head. He relaxed slightly and stared at the sky with a semi-grin stuck to his face, he watched the clouds go by in silence for a few minutes before turning to Piccolo again.

"Well that's one problem out of the way…"

……………………………

A large ki blast narrowly missed its target and crashed into a mountain just behind his opponent. Gohan growled as the mountain exploded, he just couldn't hit his target!

His thoughts were interrupted as an orange man descended from the sky, holding a small ki blast firmly in his grip. Gohan flipped out of the way as the energy ball was released. A foot kicked him in the side and caused him to skid along the dirty ground. Gohan reclaimed his footing and attacked Goku; the man fazed out and ended up behind Gohan. Gohan also fazed out as a punch came flying into the now empty space, the Majin boy reappeared behind his father and sent a kick for his head. Goku swung around and grabbed the leg; Gohan smiled and quickly let a ki blast go, aiming for Goku's own leg. Goku let his son go as he cried out in pain. Gohan landed on his hands and did a hand spring back onto his feet, perfectly I might add.

Our athletic good-turned-evil character immediately charged Goku again. Goku was too busy with his leg to notice his son coming, a mistake rewarded with a powerful kick in the chest. Goku flew backwards at an unstoppable speed and crashed into a mountain behind him, he winced as he sat up, inspecting were he was. It was a dark cave; he could hear a drip of water in the background. He sat up and looked the place over, admiring it greatly. He powered up slightly to light the cave and looked around again in a better view.

As he turned to the left, he caught a glimpse of a black figure charging at him. He didn't have time to think as a hard punch connected with his stomach. Gohan jumped back and watched at his father collapsed to the ground, he chuckled lightly as Goku fell to his knees. Goku began to cough out blood as he took his beating; his coughs became heavier as Gohan kneed him in the stomach.

"Having fun, 'dad'?"

Goku looked up at his son before shakily getting to his feet. He whipped the blood from under his mouth and spit a bit of it out. He winced slightly as his lips began to ache. He smirked at his son as their gaze met.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Gohan was taken a back by that answer, all though didn't show it on his facial features or the way he stood; he stood strong. He suddenly fell to the ground as a powerful foot connected with his side. Gohan landed with a thud and looked up at his still smirking father. Gohan spit out his own mixture of saliva and blood, a small tooth going with it and smirked back up at his father.

Getting into a line of action Gohan kicked Goku in the stomach with two feet and sprang up in the process and began chuckling as he watched Goku struggle to get back to his feet. Gohan didn't give him much chance as he kicked Goku in the side harshly, making the man roll to the side like a rag doll and wince every few seconds.

Goku felt like fainting. He could feel himself slip in and out of consciousness; it was maddening, seeing a pitch-black screen before seeing the rocks around you again and letting it go back and forth. He finally gave up and just lay there, wishing that he could just lie there and sleep. Gohan had other plans for him though.

"Get up!" His son yelled impatiently, kicking Goku in the side again.

Goku slowly got to his feet as instructed, only to fall right back down as he lost the feeling in his legs. "I can't…" He mumbled quietly, weakly laughing nervously all the while. Gohan just snorted to that answer and sat down next to his fathers weakened form.

_I could just kill him…_ Gohan thought to himself as he watched Goku close his eyes and try to relax. _…Why don't I?_ He watched Goku shiver slightly as a soft wind swept though the cave. "Maybe because he's already dead," Gohan said aloud, laughing a bit at that statement.

Goku weakly looked up into his sons eyes, they were observing him. He examined Gohan's body and laughed lightly, his son, if he could call him that anymore, was such a trooper. The kid was beaten up badly with large gashes from the previous Kamehameha and he was still able to beat the tar out of his old man.

Gohan sighed, he was going to regret this later but… he walked over to his father and started to search around in the blue sash around Goku's waist. He pulled out a small brown bag and searched around in it, finding a small green bean. He sighed softly and broke it in half, chewing on one of the two pieces. He winced at the bitter taste of it as it began to take affect, making some of Gohan's deadly wounds heal up, not all of course as the bean was only half as powerful now. He also felt his power come back to him, only to about halfway there.

He looked over at his father before crawling over. "Here… Goku…" He said hesitantly, he wasn't on his father's side just yet. He propped the small bean into Goku's mouth and watched as he chewed on it. His father relaxed as his strength began to return to him. He sat up weakly, still getting use to the feel of his arms and legs. He eyed his son suspiciously before staring at the ground.

"Thanks Gohan,"

A sympathetic smile graced Gohan's features as he stared at his now half-healed father. Goku smiled back at him, just happy his son wasn't all evil. Maybe he had switched sides? Not likely… A trickle of blood travelled down Goku's chin just as a powerful fist made contact with his stomach. "Your welcome." The boy said unemotionally before pulling himself to his feet.

A foot then slammed into his head and forced him to go skidding across the ground, creating a large skid mark as he went. Goku slowly pushed himself out of the self-made crater and looked up, only to be met with the sight of his son slowly walking toward him. Goku's mouth curved up in a slight smile. He may not be on his side yet, but there was still hope for him…

……………………………

A large city came into view as the dragon radar began to beep crazily.

"That's where the next dragonball is!" Bulma called over to Yamcha the pilot, as the high-pitched beeping continued.

The aircraft landed safely in the city on a grassy plain, most likely the park or something. The door moved slightly before swinging open to reveal around eight different people, one holding a baby. The unsuspecting people outside stared in wonder and a little fear as these eight people jumped out. Eighteen lowered Marron to the ground and watched as the 3-year-old scurried around the field in pure delight. Eighteen smiled at her child, motherhood was making her soft.

"OK!" Bulma exclaimed, gaining everybody's attention, "The dragon ball should be that way!" She pointed to the South, the direction that leads into the city. "You guys coming or what?"

They all stood in attention and followed after her in silence. Eighteen shook her head and reached a hand out for the 3-year-old little girl. The girl took her mommy's hand happily and ran after the others with her android mother in tow.

Bulma stared at her radar as the dragonball came into range, she pointed to a small antique shop about 10 meters away. "The dragonball is in that building!" She yelled to them as she made her way to the little shop.

They all entered the shop calmly and began to look around for the dragonball. A small orange light caught the eyes of the pink pig Oolong as he made his way to an area filled with small, antique models. He pulled it out of the cluster it was placed in and eyed it to make sure it was the dragonball. Three stars shone in the sunlight, indicating that it was in fact a dragonball. He smiled in triumph.

"I got it!"

Everyone turned to face the pig questionably. "You mean the dragonball?" Puar said in her squeaky voice as she approached Oolong.

The pig proudly smiled and held the ball up for everyone to see. Bulma snatched it from his hoofed hands and ran over to the shopkeeper, slamming the orange sphere onto the desk in front of the man at the counter.

"How much for this?" She asked impatiently.

"30,000 zeni," He managed to choke out as the woman's deadly glare met his eyes.

"Fine," Bulma muttered, grabbing the purse slung over her shoulder and starting to search though it. She pulled out a credit card and forced it into the shopkeeper's hands. The shopkeeper sighed and handed the card back to Bulma.

"Cash only Ma'am."

Another "Fine," was muttered as Bulma started to search through her bag again. She pulled out a small leather wallet with a 'C' symbol on it and unclipped it. She pulled out a wad of cash and started to count it. After a few minutes of continuous counting she shoved about half the amount of money back into her purse and put the credit card with it. "Here!" She nearly screamed, shoving the amount into the clerks face. He shakily took it and handed her the dragonball. She smiled and made her way out of the shop with the three star dragonball in hand.

"Number two…" She muttered as they left the shop.

……………………………

His destination became clear to him past the clouds as he descended down towards the earth. What once was a vast brown plain in his eye was becoming more and more like a battle scared area. A fat pink creature was dancing around happily, making Vegeta sick to his stomach; the area this creature was in didn't strike him as a happy environment. Battle scars plagued the area in the form of large holes piercing into the earth. Purple blood was smeared across the ground in places from Dabura and the Supreme Kai's wounds. And yet there that…that 'thing' was! Dancing around like it was any other day.

Vegeta touched down on the ground next to a bloody and beaten Supreme Kai as a freezing wind sweep though the area, making the saiyan prince shudder slightly. The happy creature turned to the new arrival with the biggest grin stretched across his face. He bounded over to Vegeta until they were about 5 meters away from each other. There he stopped, cocking his head to the side as if to be confused.

"You come to play with Buu?"

The innocence of that voice amazed him. What he had heard about this 'Buu' just didn't add up to the warrior he was facing now, if you could call the chubby pink piece of chewing gum a warrior. None the less Vegeta was astounded, this creature was short, fat, ugly, talked in the third person, and is the most powerful creature in the known universe!

"So your Buu huh?"

The creature's bobbed its head up and down in a 'yes' gesture. The smile on Buu's face grew wider, "Uh huh! Uh huh!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and examined this 'Buu' again. How can this creature be the strongest villain ever to threaten the earth that Vegeta had known of and still have the vocabulary and bouncy attitude of Kakkarot's second brat Goten? _He has a high power level though… nothing to toy with!_ Vegeta decided in his mind, he was going to go all out on this creature, no mater what its appearance was like.

"Well then…" He let a golden gust of wind erupt around his body before continuing his sentence, "Prepare to die!"

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted on the 16 March 2005 – 5039 words

Two dragonballs already! Is Gohan's show of generosity a sign they still have a chance to reach him? Piccolo and Krillin are back and Vegeta's ready to fight that big, pink and podgy creature Majin Buu! Will he be enough? What will happen to them next? Find out next time on Dragonball Z: Unexpected Majin!

Yet another Update! Sorry it took a lot longer than the other chapters, although I shouldn't really apologize for a few days… Anyway thanks for all the positive reviews coming in for this story, and If anyone says that this part is similar to what happened in my last version of the story I'd have to agree, but don't worry! I've got an unexpected turn for this story coming up! And remember to always Read and Review! Posted on 15 March 2005

P.S. Edited it a bit! Only the scenes with Vegeta, Krillin and Piccolo in them though! Hope that's ok! Edited on 18 March 2005

P.S.S. Edited it again! But this time at the end of when Gohan gives Goku the senzu bean! That 30-word part is now 136-words! Yay for me! Edited on 29 April 2005


	7. Outmatched

Chapter seven - Buu's too strong!

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: Me? Dragonball Z? NO!

Say Goodbye to the 'Last time!' junk! They got harder and harder and write so I gave them up! This area will now serve us with author comments and review feedback, just not in the style most over writers do it… anyway enjoy the story! I know you don't miss what this section use to hold!

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"I can't believe you didn't INFORM us that you had a dragonball at your house!" Bulma's voice echoed through the small ship as she yelled at the elderly pervert Master Roshi.

Everyone else couldn't help but sweatdrop.

Master Roshi cowered to her gaze as Bulma thrust the beeping radar into his face; it showed the coordinates of Roshi Island being covered by a flashing orange dot. "I'm…s…sorry…Bul…ma," He managed to squeak out in absolute terror.

"You better be sorry!" Bulma screeched again. Turning around, she stomped off towards the others and flopped onto a nearby seat, right next to Chi-Chi.

The old hermit started to relax. He let his breath continue in long strides as he tried to get the voice of Vegeta's harpy wife to stop ringing in his ears. He let out a quiet "Sheesh." Before making his way over to a nearby window and peering out of it, spotting his island almost instantly.

The sand on the beach was blown away in a forceful gust of wind as the small helicopter landed softly on the sandy shore. A hiss was heard as the door to the chopper opened swiftly, blowing the sandy wind away from the door. One by one all eight occupants left the small aircraft and settled onto the soft sandy beach beneath their feet.

A restless Bulma instantly ran for the house. Loud 'clangs' and 'bangs' were heard from outside as the small two story hut began to shake a little, like they were experiencing an earthquake. The sounds and movement of the house stopped and only about 10 seconds later the door of the cottage burst open to reveal a panting Bulma.

"WHERE IS IT?" She yelled over the sandy island, it was more of a demand than a question.

She ran across the beach as fast she could and grabbed the collar of Master Roshi's neck. She glared at him intensely before letting him drop to the warm sand below. The old pervert sweatdropped before lifting himself to his feet and hesitantly walking around Bulma. He made his way over to the house and entered it silently. It only took about 3 minutes for Master Roshi to come back out and stop in front of the towering Bulma. He slowly lifted the object in his hand to her eye level.

The four stars shone mockingly in the sunlight. Bulma stared at her tainted reflection before stretching her hands out slowly and letting the small dragonball drop into her sweaty palms.

The old man turned around and started heading for the aircraft. Soft mumbles were heard travelling across the ocean sea, "Did you see what she did to my house!" and "I have to do everything!" Was all anybody managed to pick up over the flow of curse words he was sending around.

Bulma simply ignored the old man and rotated the glowing orange ball in her hands before bringing it to a halt and grinning widely.

"Number three."

……………………………

The shocked eyes of Krillin and Piccolo eyed the two boys as they landed on the mountain both namekian and human were perched on. Both Goten and Trunks turned to their company and started to walk over to the both of them. Trunks hesitantly raised his hand for the two of them and laughed nervously.

"Hi."

"Uh… Hi." Krillin managed to answer with.

"Ok enough with the introductions," Piccolo butted in, making all eyes turn to him. "What are you two boys doing here?"

The boy's looked at each other before quickly turning back to Piccolo and Krillin, "To help Gohan!" Goten chimed in confidently.

Piccolo's mouth widened and his eyes bulged out, his mind repeating that same sentence over and over again like a recurring beat._ Why would Gohan need help? _Piccolo swallowed down a lump in his throat, getting ready to ask them the exact question that kept making itself known in his mind, Krillin beat him to it though.

"Why would Gohan need help?"

Goten dropped his once serious expression and lifted an arm behind his head in a familiar Son gesture. "Well we don't know," He laughed nervously after this statement.

Piccolo and Krillin almost face faulted; they restrained themselves luckily. "How can you not know?" Piccolo screamed at the two boys, how could they want to help someone when they didn't even know what the problem was.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Trunks began to wave his hands around defensively, "We do know it has something to do with Babidi…"

Piccolo began to tap his chin in thought, _Why would Babidi have anything to do with this? There was something the Supreme Kai said about this… Krillin made a wise crack about it too; I'll have to get him for that. Something to do with mind control? Evil hearted? Something like that._

The possibility suddenly dawned on him, but it couldn't be possible! Gohan was pure of heart! He swallowed down another forming lump in his throat and looked to the two boys.

"Anything different about him?"

The boys looked to each other once again in thought.

"There was that tattoo…" Trunks said, not leaving eye contact with his best friend.

"Tattoo?" Both Krillin and Piccolo said at the same time, looking at each other from the corner of their eye.

"Yeah! A weird 'M' thing," Trunks turned to the grown ups, Goten following his example, "First the dorky Saiyaman costume and then a tattoo? Where did Gohan's sence of whats 'in' go?"

"Dorky?" Goten questioned, totally confused. His confusion turned to anger quickly though, "Saiyaman is not dorky!" He let out a huff and folded his arms over his chest.

Trunks covered his face with one hand as a large sweatdrop slipped down the back of his neck. "Is so." He mumbled past his hand.

"Is not!" Goten yelled after faintly hearing trunks' mumbled reply.

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"IS SO!"

"IS NOT!"

Krillin and Piccolo didn't hear the boy's argument about the 'Great Saiyaman's' dorky outfit; they were still captivated by the two boy's words. Their minds wouldn't process the information, Gohan was just too pure of heart, there's absolutely NO WAY he could be on Babidi's Majin team. Piccolo was having a harder time than Krillin getting his head around it; Gohan was like a second son to him.

"Th…tha…that can't be right…" The words came from Krillin in a stuttered reply.

"What can't be right?" Goten asked as his head tilted to the side and a face of pure innocents and confusion graced the small saiyan's features.

"That Gohan's a Majin!" Piccolo snapped from behind the former monk.

"Majin?" It was now Trunks' turn to butt into the conversation, "As in Majin Buu?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes, "Not exactly…" he trailed off, he didn't want the boys to learn the truth about Gohan, they had to be wrong, "We'll explain later."

Trunks and Goten's faces dropped, Goten let out a "Owh…" He looked at the two grown ups again, "Daddy said that too, we want to know now!"

Piccolo sighed and turned away from them, he was about to say something when he noticed Vegeta. His eyes widened in shock as his pupils focused on an overweight pink creature dancing around. He made his way over to the ledge and peered over, followed closely by Krillin, Trunks and Goten.

"Wow! Dads gonna fight!" Trunks yelled happily over the ledge.

……………………………

Buu started to stretch his floppy limbs, sizing up for battle. Vegeta just stood there, trying to reach the full potential of the recently acquired Super Saiyan two level of his, making the wind around him grow stronger with each passing second.

"Buu ready!"

Buu's childish voice vibrated through the rocks, dirt and mountains around them. A shudder swept Vegeta's body as Buu got into a menacing fighting stance, Vegeta shifted into one too. Buu didn't say a word as he watched his opponent slip into his own stance before Vegeta charged him.

Babidi silently slipped into the air and started to descend backwards, away from the fight that was about to take place between Vegeta and his father's creation, Buu. He chuckled as the fight became smaller and smaller to him before he finally stopped about 100 meters from the fight and about 100 meters in the air too.

Vegeta began to attack Majin Buu's body in an amazing effort to destroy the earth's newest menace. Buu didn't even lift a finger to stop the onslaught, he just absorbed every blow as it came at him, and it even dented him at times, leaving Buu to pop the skin back up again. Vegeta began to pant and dropped to the ground. Buu picked him up by the scruff of his gi and smiled childishly, Vegeta spat to the creatures expression and braced himself as Buu sent a solid punch for Vegeta's stomach, he let the prince go as it impacted, making Vegeta go flying through the air.

The prince caught himself and flew at Majin Buu with his fists raised. Using as much power as he could, he sent a strong blow into the monster's chubby face. Buu's head fell back, only to jolt back up again as he grinned at the prince past the man's fist. Buu grabbed Vegeta's legs and threw him back. Vegeta flipped to land on his feet and charged Majin Buu yet again.

Buu shot out a yellow-gloved palm, he watched as his opponent crashed into it and fell over, grasping his stomach in pain. A smile of evil glee stretched across the monsters face as he brought his foot up and kicked Vegeta's head, watching as the proud prince skidded across the ground at an alarming speed brought an unknown joy to him. Vegeta got to his feet hesitantly and wiped the stains of blood and dirt from his lips, his face was graced with a smirk.

Again Vegeta charged the overweight nemesis. The monster Majin Buu watched as Vegeta planted a weak fist, at least for Majin Buu, into his gut, the next thing Vegeta did was spread his fingers out and send a powerful energy attack into Majin Buu's stomach from the hand. The blast went surging through the large, pink belly and came out the other side. The blast simply whistled as it exited the monsters body. Vegeta's smirk grew wider as he eyed the gaping hole, when Majin Buu saw it however, his face twisted into an expression of utter rage.

"You hurt Buu," The Majin muttered weakly.

Vegeta simply chuckled to that answer and worded his reply, "Yes, I guess I did hurt Buu."

"YOU HURT BUU!" His head jerked back in order to let out an uncontrolled scream as his power began to skyrocket.

"Wha!" Vegeta yelled as he was thrown back by the tremendous gust of wind swirling around the fat pink form in the middle of it all.

A round pink cage surrounded Majin Buu as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "ANGRY EXPLOSION!" The cage expanded as the creatures yell became louder, letting it engulf Vegeta within it. Vegeta let out a loud scream as the burning energy within the round ball overcame his flesh, in an effort tearing at his skin. It pushed him back and died down silently, having Majin Buu's scream became a low whisper.

As the smoke from it all was washed away by the rushing winds around them Majin Buu became seen. His body glowed pink with anger as his squinted eyes glared at Vegeta as the saiyan prince brought himself to his feet in an effort.

Once Vegeta was on his feet, still swaying a bit, Majin Buu pounced at him; landing on the pure-breed's stomach and forcing him to the ground again. Vegeta's head fell to the ground and a small flow of blood left the side of his mouth, he clasped at the ground as Majin Buu's attack winded him and left him lying there, almost unmoving. Buu smiled manically before jumping into the air and landing forcefully on Vegeta's stomach again. The prince let out a winded cry of pain as his body was jerked forward from under the terrible monster's butt. Majin Buu then went to jump again, and again, and again; each time he landed Vegeta felt himself faintly slipping into unconsciousness.

……………………………

Tears started to leak from Trunks' eyes as he watched Majin Buu beat up his dad. He clenched his eyes closed and turned around, not wanting to see his father die. Trunks' eyes sprung open before narrowing, having his mouth follow suit as it turned into a frown, a determined frown. He looked to the shocked faces of Piccolo and Krillin, then to the also crying face of his best friend. He let the tears flow freely down his cheeks, letting them over layer the old water stains. He then turned back to the fight and leaned over the rocky edge he was currently sitting on.

"I have to help dad!" He declared through clenched teeth, causing Krillin to flash an expression of concern towards Vegeta's son, Piccolo just stared at him in shock.

"You… can't!" Piccolo yelled to him, "We can't loose you!"

"I don't care!" He whispered loudly, leaning further over the ledge. His hair shot up in spikes before being engulfed by a golden light and turning gold itself. His eyes flashed green and he sprinted off the rock, heading for the battle.

Goten watched him go before also going super saiyan and making an attempt to escape. A forceful green hand clutched his ankle and pulled the little boy to the ground. Goten looked at his attacker in shock before turning around, starting to fight the hand, only to fail as Piccolo grasped it tighter.

"We can't loose you too!"

Goten turned to the namekian again and grabbed the towering man's wrist, "If I were Gohan you'd let me go!" He mumbled as he began to tug at the wrist. Those words rang through Piccolo's ears, causing him to let go of the seven year olds ankle. Goten blasted off after Trunks.

Piccolo fell to the ground with a 'thud' and stared past the rocks, letting his eyes travel to the battlefield where the boys were heading now.

After a short minute he hopped to his feet and flew after them, leaving a confused Krillin behind.

……………………………

Babidi turned around, being greeted by a small boy flying towards him. His eyes widened before he rolled to the side, only for another child to fly passed him. He dodged this kid also before falling forward and panting heavily, "Darn…brats!" He managed to say between the rising puffs of his lungs.

Babidi weakly looked behind him, just to make sure no more 'brats' were coming, only to come face to face with some weird green man. He swung fully around and looked his new company's green body up and down. He brought his eyes up to the namekian's face and started to chuckle lightly, "Green eh?" He asked mockingly, "Weird choice of colours for an earthling."

The chuckle was returned by an amused "Humph," Coming from Piccolo's still smirking lips. "Who said I was an earthling?" the question made the wizard raise an invisible eyebrow in question. Babidi winced as the flesh of an arm cut through the wizard's side and sliced him in half. His torn clothes blew fiercely against his wound as the wind blew the outfit around. A trickle of purple blood fell from Babidi's top half and was swept away with the wind, his bottom half twirled through the air before landing with a thud on the dirt ground below.

Babidi winced again as he began to fall after it, only for his arm to be grabbed harshly. He felt himself being jolted up before he was yanked forward from there to the namekian's eye level. Piccolo smirked as their eyes met. The small wizard began to squirm as he started to feel the pressure of only one of his arms carrying one half of his body. He hesitantly grabbed Piccolo's wrist in an attempt to hold himself up better. He growled loudly as he glared into the coal black of the green man's eyes.

"Do you realize what you just did?" Babidi spat, making Piccolo close his eyes to shield them from the salvia. As the wizard finished speaking he opened them again.

"No!" He stated plainly.

"With me gone who will control Majin Buu?" He let out a small cough as pain started to shot up his back, "He'll run wild! Destroying anything and everything in his path!" Yet again he spat this out.

"Funny," Piccolo began as he moved his hand to his chin, "I thought you were going to do that anyway."

Before Babidi could even mutter a word Piccolo gripped Babidi's wrist tighter and slammed a balled fist down onto the small wizards head. The arm be was holding ripped away from its body as the wizard was forced down by the punch. A blood curdled scream followed the wizard as he fell to the ground where his bottom half awaited him.

Piccolo spat as the body landed. He eyed the arm in his hands and threw it to the side, letting it fall to the ground below also.

……………………………

Meanwhile both father and son were still fighting each other.

Their punches clashed, causing pain to erupt through their arms and up their spines. Ignoring it they drew their arms back at the same time and went to kick each other, only for their feet to met and yet again the stinging feeling rake their bodies.

Gohan grabbed Goku by the shoulders and forced him down. Goku only went a few meters before being able to catch himself. A strong foot clipped the back of his head and sent him flipping through the air. Yet again he was able to catch himself, only upside down this time. Two strong arms grabbed his legs and began to swing him around. Goku didn't think twice before sending a weak blast for Gohan's head, it hit him head on, causing him to let go of Goku and rub his burning face.

His eyes narrowed as the smoke around his head died down, revealing a frowning, black-faced Gohan. Goku charged him and sent a blow for his face, he hit air. He felt a presence behind him, swung around and quickly blocked a punch as it was sent for his neck. Goku swung a leg at Gohan's side, the boy flipped backwards, dodging the shot.

Gohan jumped higher into the air and swung a foot down onto Goku's head. His father leaned back and grabbed the incoming foot. Gohan dropped his ki from under him and started to push his father downward as the man still clung to his white and yellow tipped boot. Goku impacted with the ground and let out a winded cry. Gohan flipped off his father's body and watched as Goku got to his feet, using the chance to stare at his son.

Goku and Gohan were so close to each other, their noses were almost touching and their chests were only inches apart. Gohan and Goku both took five steps back creating a distant from each other to continue their fight.

A kick in the side sent Gohan flying, he quickly caught himself and flipped to his feet. He started to breath heavily but quickly stopped as Goku went to punch him, letting thoughts of his arms falling off leave him, he jumped out of the way and sent a punch into Goku's gut. The father of the fighters grabbed his stomach and fell to his knees. Gohan watched him for a second before flipping over him and planting a solid kick into Goku's back as he went, he swiftly turned around as he landed on his feet and eyed his father.

Goku slowly lifted himself out of the human-sized crater and swung around to meet his son face to face. In sync they jumped into the air and started to exchange strong blows, combinations of kicks, punches, swipes, dodges and flips followed the two through the air as they battled it out. Seeing an opening to the onslaught Goku managed to land a powerful punch to the boy's face. Gohan's head jerked back as the punch hit. He brought his hands to his face and felt the blood trickle from his swollen eye.

His mind returned to the fight as a swift kick landed in his stomach and sent him to the ground. A crater was formed beneath his body as he impacted. Sharp rocks lightly pierced his skin, forcing himself to jump to his feet. He sighed with relief as the unneeded pain disappeared and he was able to concentrate on his father again.

He smirked and lifted his hands to his forehead, palms facing outward, letting yellow energy surge into his hands in order to make a basketball-sized ball of energy. It crackled in his hands as he poured more power into, letting it seep happily through his body. Goku was unmoving the whole time, he was going to fight the blast, not with his own power though, no that would be a waste of energy, he was going to fight it with his own two hands.

"MASENKO… HA!"

As the word rung through Goku's ears he quickly braced himself for the oncoming energy attack. He watched as the yellow energy zoomed at him at an alarming speed, but he was ready. As the blast connected with his hands the burning effect of the energy made itself known, forcing Goku to wince under the struggle. Lightning sparkled at his end of the attack as he began to be pushed back, into the sky and soon into space, he wouldn't let that happen though. Goku's power spiked dramatically and he began to push the energy back.

Gohan felt the strain of the energy come to him as Goku began to win the struggle. Gohan's hair lifted as the gust of wind around him intensified, signalling that Gohan was raising his power. The only thing reflecting in his eyes was the yellow glow of the attack; it cancelled out everything else. The size of the blast almost doubled as yet again more power was poured into it by Gohan. His teeth clenched together as yet again Goku was able to slowly push it back.

The size doubled yet again, becoming as wide as his body in height. Goku didn't know what to do from there, he could go to his new leve… no, that was untested in the living realm, and he had to do something else, maybe jump to the side? Get out of the way? Too risky… Maybe there's another way to do it! Goku slowly placed his feet on the blast and began pushing it down with them, he sent ki to his feet slowly, concentrating it to become a solid form instead of just making him fly. He smiled as his feet began to glow blue; he started to chant quietly.

"Kamehameha!"

At those words the blue energy erupted in a fiery blast as it pushed off the top of the blast and sent him into the sky. The foot kamehameha pushed the blast away just as effectively as his hands, which meant it was slowly being engulfed. Wasting no time he let go of the energy from his feet and twirled to the side, narrowly missing the yellow Masenko. It whistled past him, into space as the blue energy completely disappeared with it.

Gohan growled as his father began to fly back towards the earth, that blast would have eventually wiped Goku off the face of the earth, even otherworld! He would have done what no other villain could, Defeat Goku!

……………………………

To be continued…

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How was that people? I know it didn't change much than in the series but if I didn't put it in the story probably wouldn't make any sense, you'd probably get lost. Anyway I hope it was tolerable for you readers out there! Hope you enjoy the fight scenes!

Thanks to the reviewers so far for this story! I could do with more… but none the less the ones I have now are good enough for me! And I must also reply to Chris' question! Yes I have been thinking of a sequel and there may just be one, although I was thinking of making it something to do with the Z-sword as it will not be mentioned in this story until perhaps the end, it would fit as a sequel because in the series Gohan would have already pulled it out… anyway I hope that's good enough for you people! Read and Review! Posted on 20 March 2005


	8. Sacrifice, Knockout and Revival

Chapter eight – Sacrifice, Knockout and Revival

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I'm sure I own a few Dragonball Z playstation games!

I must warn you that this chapter may seem a bit rushed. Because, well, during this I had major writers block. Anyway, I don't have much to say here right now so read on!

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Yet again Majin Buu's body descended towards the ground. Vegeta grasped the ground tighter as the pain set in. He felt a large sweep of blood pour out of his mouth and stain his already bloody face; a dark red patch of liquid was splashed on the ground around his head. Vegeta clenched his blood stained teeth together as Buu started to laugh hysterically.

Small, yellow coloured boots struck Buu's head, knocking it clean off. The booted feet retracted and again struck Majin Buu, only in the stomach this time. The monster went flying back at an immeasurable speed as the attacker landed gracefully on the ground, right next to the bloody Vegeta.

The figure dropped to his knees and grabbed Vegeta's shoulders, starting to shake him lightly. The prince opened an eye hesitantly, only to see his purple haired son, golden now that he was super saiyan, standing there.

"Trunks," He managed to say past the pain in his stomach, "My son."

"Yeah dad?" He asked, lifting his father into a sitting position.

Vegeta gasped dangerously as Goten landed next to Trunks and grabbed one of 'Mr.' Vegeta's hands. Letting strain chorus through his small features, he starting pulling Vegeta up in order to get the man fully on his feet. Goten turned to Trunks and motioned towards Vegeta's other hand. Trunks simply nodded and grabbed his father's free arm. Together the two boys managed to hoist Vegeta up onto his tired heels. Vegeta wobbled a bit before finally getting a reasonable footing, he turned to the sky and sighed loudly.

"You know Trunks?" He said out of the blue, he then turned towards his son, "I don't think I've ever held you since you were a small child." He lightly grabbed Trunks by the arm and pulled him towards his chest.

"What are you doing dad?" Trunks questioned as Vegeta's muscular arms wrapped around his small body, "This is embarrassing!" A blush highlighted his face as he turned to Goten.

Vegeta ignored the comment and pushed his son away from him slightly and placed his strong hands on Trunks' shoulders, "I want you to take good care of your mother for me."

Trunks raised an eyebrow at his father's request, "Why da-" A powerful fist slammed into the side of his head before he could finish his sentence.

Vegeta sighed again as he watched Trunks land on the rocky ground with a 'thud', and the boy instantly switch from super saiyan to normal. Goten stared at his best friends unconscious body and then at Vegeta, he growled angrily and ran up to the full-grown saiyan, he started to pound on Vegeta's well-built chest in a fit of rage.

"How could you do that to your own son?" Goten began his rant, "Daddy's don't do that their own sons!"

Another sigh left Vegeta bruised lips. He looked at Kakkarot's second brat as the boy continued his both verbal, and somewhat weak, physical assault. He lifted his knee into the young boy's stomach, watching as the golden haired child regained his original black hair on contact. Goten slipped off Vegeta's knee and dropped like a rock next to Trunks. The small boy let out a loud cough as a last sign, saying he was still conscious. That didn't last long. His head dropped like the rest of his body, he finally came into the same condition as his best friend, unconsciousness.

"Take them to the lookout," Vegeta stated plainly.

The green figure behind him nodded his head in a 'yes' and made his way over to the two boys. He slung Goten over his shoulder and placed Trunks under his arm. He turned around, only to see Supreme Kai lying on the side of his face, battered and bruised. He picked the highest Kai in the known universe up and put him under his free arm. Piccolo let out a loud sigh and slowly drifted into the air.

"Namek!" Vegeta turned his head slightly to get a better view of Piccolo, "When I die will I met Kakkarot again?"

Piccolo lowered his head, "I'm sorry but no! Goku dedicated his life to protecting this planet and all its inhabitants," He turned around and lifted higher into the air, "Most of your life all you have done is kill innocent people without a second thought," He spat as he said those words, the once-considered demon king knew he once lived a life like that.

Vegeta shrugged a shoulder and fully faced the direction Buu had just flown into, "So be it."

Piccolo nodded his head and shot off through the sky, not looking back once.

Vegeta let a small smirk itch across his face as Piccolo's energy signal drifted further and further away. The smirk instantly dropped off his face as Buu bounded back over to the fight with his head intact. He let out a loud giggle and started doing handstands; happy he was still alive.

Vegeta scowled in disgust and started powering up. Once he reached his max he started expanding the power outwards. The bright yellow around him ripped away at his skin, Vegeta held firm and continued to take the pain. Majin Buu questioned the saiyan with the best totally confused look he could get on his chubby face. The energy suddenly encased Buu within it and began harshly tearing at him like he was a flimsy sheet of already thin paper. The monstrous scream held no mercy, and Vegeta didn't hold any of his power back. Buu felt his body begin to dissolve into the energy as it became stronger and stronger, until he was nothing more than millions of Pink blobs floating around the yellow pool of energy.

Vegeta screamed again as his last bit of power was released and he was ripped to shreds. The energy instantly disappeared, revealing the tiny blobs of pink skin and a massacre of saiyan blood lying around the horrible playing field. A wind sweep through the area as it became dead quiet.

……………………………

_Gohan!_ -

Gohan shuddered as the small, weak plea was sent to his brain. Dodging a kick sent by Goku; he tried concentrating on the owner of the voice to send back his mental reply. He grabbed Goku's head and flipped over the man, sending a kick into his fathers back as he went. Goku was pushed back about 10 meters before catching himself.

Gohan began to send Babidi a reply but Goku suddenly sent a punch for his stomach, stopping him before he could even mutter a word. Gohan grabbed the fist weakly, letting a small dribble of blood descend down his chin. He flipped off the fist and landed behind his father, both were now back to back. It was amazing how they both managed to swing around to face each other at the exact same time, almost like it was carefully planned down to the very last detail.

Their fits suddenly clashed as a sea of yellow sparks fell from their hands. Instantly they disappeared, only to reappear as Gohan threw a punch for Goku's stomach. Yet again they disappeared from human sight, reappearing just as quickly as before, only this time Goku had managed to kick his sons head in. Again their figures disappeared from view and came back with their fists driving into each other's faces. They flew apart and started panting heavily, eyeing each other down. Gohan used this time to get a lock on Babidi's mind and sent back his question.

_What is it Master Babidi? -_

His reply came in an irritated tone, something Gohan regretted as a small but sharp mental pain struck his mind. He winced, but managed to block a punch sent for his head, sending a kick towards the attackers stomach at the same time. Goku doubled over in pain for a split second before swiping the side of Gohan's own abdomen with his leg, sending the boy a few meters. Gohan caught himself and charged up a small blast. Within seconds it held quite a bit of power and was ready to let go. He threw it at his father instantly and watched as it hit, the target fell from the sky before being able to stop himself by flipping to his feet on the ground.

Goku instantly flew at his son with both fists raised. Gohan got ready but clenching his fists at the side of his body, like he was trying to perform a kamehameha. Once Goku was close enough he swung the fists towards his father and managed to get them to clash with Goku's own hands. Suddenly they pulled back their fists and started to throw a furry of attacks at each other, blocking, punching, kicking, clashing again, dodging and ducking. As each attack hit, a river of golden sparks emitted from them. Getting a lucky shot in, Gohan managed to punch Goku away from him.

Babidi smiled when he felt Gohan's mind at ease and decided to answer the boy's question, now that the saiyan wasn't distracted.

_Sorry to interrupt your fight, boy, BUT CAN YOU GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME?_ -

Gohan clutched his head with one of his hands tightly as Babidi's screeching voice made contact with Gohan's mind. "Sounds like my mother," he mumbled as he began to rub his temples soothingly. He watched as Goku came closer and closer to begin the battle. Gohan sighed as he remembered he had to end this now. Gohan weakly sent out another mental reply before continuing the battle.

_- Yes master Babidi._ -

……………………………

The bright yellow light in the sky faded from view and was replaced with its usual light blue. Vegeta's energy signature faded along with it, as though it never existed, meaning he was… dead. Piccolo's head hung low, not wanting to truly believe the saiyan prince was gone. He just floated there for a second before continuing to fly towards Krillin. He was relieved to feel the little former monk's ki coming closer towards him, causing him to decide upon just waiting for the short man.

A small whitey-blue blur appeared in the distance, no doubt Krillin.

The once bald man came to a halt in front of the towering namek. He tilted his head to the side in order to get a better look behind Piccolo. He gasped, noticing the thick spiral of grey smoke jetting out of the ground, no one could have survived that! He gulped unexpectedly, not wanting to ask the question that was bouncing around the walls of his mind; it didn't seem to want to go away. To tell you the truth Krillin feared the answer he may receive. It went against all his human instincts but he asked anyway…

"Do you think Majin Buu survived that?"

Piccolo raised an eyebrow at the monk before turning and staring at the smoke himself. He shook his head in a 'no' reassuringly, although his eyes never left the sight behind him. Krillin relaxed a bit. The former-monk knew that Cell couldn't have even survived that, and the bug-like android could regenerate himself from the tiniest cell. Another question came to mind, he feared the answer to this one too, and he also probable knew the answer, but it never hurts to ask…

"Do you think Vegeta survived that?"

It was amusing how that question was almost like the first one; the only difference between them was that the person he was referring to changed. The namekian's head snapped forward so Piccolo's coal black eyes were drilling holes into Krillins face. Krillin let out a loud gulp as he backed away from Piccolo's glare. Calming down for a second, Piccolo shook his head again; it was impossible for Vegeta to have survived his own power. It was just plain impossible.

Piccolo forgot about Krillin completely and turned his attention to the two half-breeds', one slung other his shoulder and the other nestled under his armpit. His gaze shifted from one boy to the other repeatedly until he finally turned to Krillin again.

"Son of Goku." He muttered as both namekian and human eyes fell to Goten, "Son of Vegeta." This time they both turned to Trunks, "They are our only hope." He finished sadly.

With that said he dropped both boys' into Krillin's awaiting arms. Krillin slightly drifted down as the extra weight piled onto him. Finally getting use to it, he drifted back up to eye level with Piccolo. "I guess it's off to the lookout then," He muttered softly, turning around, now facing the direction of the Guardian, Dende's lookout.

Piccolo hesitantly turned back to the battlefield. He let out a soft sigh and turned to Krillin again, letting his gruff voice give the small guy his reply. "You go…" He handed the Supreme Kai to the small, once bald, former-monk, "I'm going to see if there's anything left of Majin Buu." He spat into the wind and raised his ki, getting ready to head off.

"What about the whole 'Gohan being Majin' thing?"

Piccolo swung around, surprised at the little man's outburst. He let his head hang once again, only this time his eyes threatened to leak the salty water formed in his eyes. He bit his lip and drew them back with as much effort as he could muster. His reply came a out a bit forced, retreating from his shaking lips.

"We hope it isn't true."

Without letting Krillin say anymore he shot off for the battlefield. Krillin simply nodded his head at Piccolo's white-energy covered form; he knew what the namekian was going through. Gohan was like a little brother to Krillin… and like a son to Piccolo.

He turned back around and let his own energy surround him at bullet speed in the form of white light. Shifting the occupants in his arms into more comfortable positions for him, he flew for the lookout, leaving a thick trail of white ki behind him as he flew.

……………………………

Goku and Gohan continued to fight, Gohan wanting to get out of there desperately. He of all people knew how impatient that little wizard Babidi was, Babidi was also the one who was controlling the half-saiyan's thoughts and instincts this very moment! Scary…

A swift kick in the head sent Gohan spiralling. Before he could catch himself, Goku grabbed his arms behind the boy's back and held him there tightly. Gohan struggled to break free with little to no success, Goku held him firmly, no matter what. The Majin boy sent a kick for his father's leg, knocking the man backwards a bit but still not getting him off. _How did Goten do this when he fought Trunks?_ Gohan asked himself as his struggles stopped. _He overpowered him; he stunned him…_ Gohan sighed and started to power up, letting a golden light swirl around him to make the transformation more dramatic.

Goku's eyes widened as Gohan's strong energy and just raw strength started to overpower him and also make it harder to see. In an attempt to shield his eyes he let go of his son and brought a muscular arm up in front of face. Gohan smirked; _Who would of thought I could get fighting tips from my seven-year-old little brother?_ He asked himself half-jokingly. Gohan let the thought float away as he swung a powerful white, gold tipped boot into his father's stomach. The wind around them died down as Goku bent over in pain, coughing out a fair bit of crimson blood.

The younger of the two fighters didn't delay in attacking again. He sent a strong punch into the back of Goku's neck, making the earth-grown saiyan flip through the air, before finally being able to plant his feet into the rocky ground safely. He didn't have time to think as Gohan charged through the air at his father with his fists raised. Out of pure instinct Goku threw his hands up, letting them lock with Gohan's fists in a fight for power.

Gohan added pressure into the fight by continuing to head for the ground. Goku's feet started to sink into the rocky surface below, as his son continued to push. He winced in pain as the rocks reached his ankles and started to poke him with the sharp substance. In an effort to overpower his son he started to fly into the sky, luckily forcing his feet out of their self-made craters.

Getting a bit tired with the manual fight for power, Goku quickly pulled his son down and slammed the boy into the ground. Gohan cried out in pain before getting to his feet again and wiping a small trail of blood off his face, it had previously been heading for his eye. The boy sighed when he noticed a large cut that was across his forehead.

Wasting no time, Goku charged his Majin son as the boy stood firmly on the ground. Bringing his arms up, Gohan managed to block a punch aimed for his head. Noticing his attack was unsuccessful; Goku brought his fist back and followed up with a kick. As the kick connected, Gohan felt his feet slip back, leaving a small brown imprint in the earth. Goku flipped over his son and brought another foot into his unsuspecting back.

Gohan was flung forward but managed to stop the fall with his hands and flip to his feet again. He didn't have time to let relief overcome any part of his body as yet another leg-connected-to-his-foot pushed into his back and successfully ploughed him into the ground. Gohan quickly rolled to the side as the foot returned, the impact of the shoe leaving a deep hole in the earth. Not letting this chance slip by, Gohan brought his feet up and planted them into Goku's chest, making his father tumble into the sky.

As Goku flew back, Gohan shot a strong yet small ball of ki at his father. Goku let out a soundless cry as the small attack singed his skin brutally. Goku's path of flight changed as he fell towards the ground. He managed to land on his hands and knees, coughing violently as he did so.

Goku didn't let the fact that he was tired beyond belief get to him however, as he rolled onto his back and jumped to his feet, using the energy in his hands and the solid ground. Once on two legs again he shifted into a well-trained fighting stance and waited for his opponent to attack. Gohan took no time in wondering what he should do next as he ran at his father with his arms pulled back, supporting two small but powerful blasts, much like the last one he threw.

In a large flare they both left his open palms, heading straight for Goku. Goku smirked and threw his palms forward, charging up two rivalling blasts of shining blue energy. Once they were superior to the blasts heading towards him he quickly let them go. With great force they easily passed through Gohan's set and continuing on their short journey to Gohan himself!

Before the boy could think, the blasts had already impacted. In a delayed reaction, Gohan was thrown back, letting out a loud scream as he went. The force of it all caused him to crush through a thin mountain and continued through it, finally being stopped by a mountain about half a mile away.

Gohan pulled his head out and shook it swiftly; that was WAY too close; if he doesn't watch it he'll be the one being knocked out. That meant only one thing right now, and that was if he didn't knock Goku out soon, his father would win! And Gohan DEFINITELY didn't want that to happen. Deciding upon getting this over with as quickly as possible, he was able to slip out of the mountain fully and jet back over to the battle.

Once he landed on the ground, Goku started heading for his son again, only at a normal human pace. Gohan couldn't help but tilt his head to the side confusingly as his father began to wobble even more with every step. Goku still held his serious fighting face as he advanced slowly on his son. A question mark appeared above Gohan's head as his father finally stopped and started to shake, clenching his teeth together. He began to cough, but that stopped almost as soon as it started. Goku's eyes rolled back into his head and his once golden locks turned jet black again. With one final cough, the man leaned forward and dropped to the ground, totally and utterly unmoving.

Gohan watched as his father fell to the ground, unconscious. The boy sighed with relief; so the guy finally became exhausted enough to pass out, saved Gohan the job.

Gohan swiftly kicked his father in the side and watched as he rolled a few meters. He walked over to him and fished through his blue sash, finding a small brown bag. Turning it upside down, he began to shake it, nothing! No beans left! He stood up and threw the bag to the side. Out of pure curiosity he eyed his arms with worry; his black spandex had been ripped off from the flesh of these muscles, letting the large, bleeding gashes decorating them a LOT easier to see, giving him a ghastly appearance, almost scary! Reaching up to his face he ran a bloody hand down a deep cut over his left eye. He was a right mess to say the least; he was practically drenched in the crimson stuff.

"Guess I should take a bath before returning to Babidi…" He said softly to himself.

He slowly lifted into the air, causing the cold breeze around him to enter his cuts and cause them to sting, just by moving. He winced, but continued to float up; it would take ages for him to get to Babidi. Once he was high enough in the air he started to look for a lake of some sort. Upon spotting one, he flew as fast as he could for it, trying to get the stinging of the air to be over a lot quicker. He landed at the mouth of the lake. Staring into it he noticed his reflection, and his condition, like a monster out of a scary movie. He eyed the 'M' on his head through the lake and let out a sigh.

Pushing back the thoughts of being the villain of this story, he dove into the watery depths with a splash, ignoring the fact he was still in his clothes, even if the only thing he was wearing was a black spandex that was almost ripped to shreds. He just floated there, letting a feeling of relief overcome his body as the blood coating his form floated into the water, leaving him thankfully clean. He slowly rose to the surface and pulled himself out of the lake. He turned around and looked into the water again, he looked a little better, the only blood left on him was a small dry trail travelling down his face and perhaps a little bit of the crimson liquid escaping his wounds at this very moment.

A feeling of wooziness hit him like a rock as he fell to his knees. He started to cough violently before dropping onto his stomach and simply lying on the grassy surface, as a small trickle of blood descended down his chin, he was unconscious. Strangely enough, his face was in a small smile.

……………………………

Piccolo landed on the battlefield gracefully. He took a quick glance over the area and noticed small pink blobs decorating the dusty ground. Noting that this was all that was left of Majin Buu, he proceeded to look for any sign of the last living full-blooded saiyan in the universe, only to find small strands of Golden hair and a few black ones. Accompanying the short hair strings were small traces of thick crimson blood, no doubt from the saiyan prince, Vegeta himself.

A small, pained cry came from behind Piccolo, causing the namekian to swing around as fast as he could. A smirk spread across his face as he managed to let his sights fall on half the body of none other than Babidi! Piccolo walked up to the small crater the wizard was in, unnoticed to him the small pink blobs around him started to dance.

"You just don't die do you?"

The statement, or question, came out mockingly from the namekians lips. The wizard looked up at him with bug-sized eyes. The small magical creature suddenly winced; blood soaked the ground as it flowed freely from the wizards wound before it stopped again. With the only hand the wizard had, he reached up towards Piccolo and started grasping the air.

"Help me!"

The wheezing voice choked out these words, and his hand continued to clench and unclench in the air above his bleeding form.

"Why should I?" Piccolo asked harshly, he wanted to kill the wizard on the spot. Babidi didn't answer him, causing Piccolo to ask another question, "What did you do to Gohan?"

Past the pain, Babidi managed to smirk. "Nothing much. Just what I usually do to people like him," The small wizards smirk grew wider and he stared into Piccolo's worried and angry eyes, a window to the soul they say, "Made him a slave."

That one sentence danced through the wind, travelling through Piccolo's ears, let him hear those heart-breaking words and then leave through his other ear, before doing it over and over again. Soon it all died down, making the only word Piccolo could remember being 'slave'.

"Why you bastard!"

But before Piccolo could kill that 'bastard' of a wizard, a loud screech of childlike grace echoed through the wind. Piccolo swung around, surprised at what he saw. Millions of Buus stood there, large smiles on their child-like features.

They started to dance around, doing the occasional back flip and one-armed handstand. The former guardian of earth watched, too shocked to move. Time seemed to last forever as the small creatures continued to dance. The routine was amusing to say the least. Each small version of Buu grabbed a partner and started to jump in circles around them. They then grabbed each other's hands, standing still, and started to chant a silly little song. Slowly they were pulled into each other and came out as a much bigger Buu.

These weird little creatures weren't done yet. The frolicking dance continued as each monster frolicked to their very own foot-tapping tune. After a few more minutes, one lone creation jumped into the air, flapping his arms like he was trying to fly. The others swung around to face it and turned into a thick, liquidly substance in the process.

They all joined together and formed a squishy ring around the only Buu with a face to speak of. The ring spun violently around, coming one step closer to the one in the middle with each passing minute. As it wrapped around the last one standing, it too turned into liquid. It all started to splash around in the air before coming to it's normal, or fat in this case, form.

"BUUUUUUUU!"

The shrill yell was an indication for our favourite namek to run. Not ignoring his instincts, he jolted up into the air and started heading for Krillin's moving ki.

Babidi chuckled as Piccolo retreated; it really was a beautiful sight. The small wizard narrowed his eyes; _I'll get you namek! _With that thought gone, he turned to his father's creation and let out a yell, expecting Buu to finally notice his bleeding form and actually help! Noticing the creature still danced, he felt anger build up.

"You good for nothing piece of crap!"

The magical wizard screeched, instantly gaining Buu's attention. Buu cocked his head to the side before bounding over to his original master's son. Buu bent down as far as he could and let a thoughtful expression cross his face as he eyed the pool of blood around his new ruler. Buu suddenly pointed to himself, smiling cheerfully.

"HELP ME, NOW!"

Seems the wizard wasn't so weak anymore.

"NO!"

Buu smiled to himself as he refused his 'master's' wishes.

"Why you little! Do you want to go back into your ball again?" He asked Majin Buu angrily. A look of fear overcame his childish face, making Babidi laugh a little, "Good, now heal me!"

Buu nodded frantically and held his arms up into the air. Strong golden waves emitted from his outstretched palms and covered the wizard's form. With a loud 'POP' sound, Babidi was able to move his legs again. He jumped to his feet, and started to concentrate almost straight away.

"Hm," Babidi muttered, he was searching for something, he was searching for Gohan. A faint cry of help came to him as he located his latest Majin. A grin stretched across his face, "There you are!" Babidi sounded like he owned the suffering boy, maybe he did.

"Come on Buu! Where going on a treasure hunt." Babidi chuckled and jumped onto Buu's back, kicking him lightly in the side to say he had to go. In a burst of unrivalled speed, they were off.

When Babidi was searching for Gohan, he was only making sure he was alive. Babidi gasped as the rushing winds around him hit him like a bullet. But back to Gohan! With no ki signature strong enough to locate and barely a mental link still connected fully, this really would be a treasure hunt.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Hope you liked it! Like I said before, it may not seem quite as good as my usual work and a little bit rushed, but bare with me! I'm sure Vegeta will probably come back into the story later! I love the saiyan prince, probably my third favourite character! Right after Gohan and Goten of course. No dragonballs in this one! Although next chapter will probably cover the remaining ones! Four in all!

Again thank you reviews! I would like to go back to the idea of doing something with this story after Buu is defeated, maybe it can have its own version of GT! What do you people think? Also if you have any ideas on how the last dragonballs should be found, please tell me! I'm all out of ideas. Anyway, Read and Review! Posted on 26 March 2005. Yay! 5201 words exactly!


	9. One word, RUN!

Chapter nine – The Remaining Dragonballs : Oceans and Caves

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: What do you think?

Onto review replies!

LauraNeatO: You don't know how incredibly motivating your words are! Anyway to answer your questions about my battle scenes… No I don't draft the fights up and I don't take Martial arts! I guess they do come to my head and that's about it. I can't really give many tips on how to write them, I just think about what I'd probably do in that situation if I could fly and had unimaginable strength! And also I try not to repeat myself, like the part with Gohan and Vegeta's two attacks! It's a very good idea but I've only used that once!

MysticSuperSaiyanGohan: If I did make my own version of GT, I would defiantly make Gohan a main character; I barely ever read a fanfic without him doing at least one thing important to the plot.

……………………………

"The middle of the ocean?"

Bulma stared out the window, eyeing the watery depths beneath the aircraft. Turns out their next dragonball just happened to be at the bottom of a never-ending sea, as in there wasn't any land for miles and miles. The radar in her hand beeped crazily. It vibrated against her hand; it felt like a massage really. It only did that when you were pretty much right on top of one of those orange spheres, meaning they were directly above it, duh!

The ship jerked a bit as they lowered it towards the water. It stopped only inches away from the flowing liquid. The water was blowing outwards in all directions underneath the helicopter, probably the force lifting the chopper up.

The door of the small craft swung open, revealing a rather impatient Bulma. She dropped to her knees, coming closer to the water. In response to the clear blue ocean being only inches away, it almost hoped right out of her hands. She panicked for a second before pulling the little, green flashing device back into the ship and lightly swinging onto the couch only about a meter away from her. She stood up and turned to the others.

"This is the place!"

A few groans were heard. Ignoring them, Bulma walked over to Yamcha, grabbed his collar and pulled him over to the door.

Instantly knowing what Bulma was asking of him, he started tugging at the yellow coat hung over his shoulders. He gulped and turned to Bulma, who was now behind him with her hands pressed against his back. Another gulped was heard as he started to talk.

"Please Bulma! New shirt and all…" He mumbled the last part while fiddling with his thumbs. He began to pout.

A smirk stretched across Bulma's face and she started pushing him towards the door. "I don't care," She said simply, still pushing him.

"Come on Bulma!" He pleaded, clasping him hands together.

She rolled her eyes; Yamcha is such a wimp. Her smirk returned and pulled the jacket he loved so much right off his shoulders, leaving only the long sleeved white undershirt covering his chest.

"Happy now?" She asked innocently before throwing the jacket onto the driver's seat behind her.

"No…" He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Bulma sighed and gave him a quick shove. He impacted with the water immediately and sunk a few meters before popping back up. He took in a loud gasp of air and turned to the person leaning against the doorframe of the small yellow craft, this person was smirking at him.

"Bulma!" The smirk didn't leave her face, "What did you do that for?"

She rolled her eyes yet again and knelt down, thrusting the beeping radar in his face, "Your welcome!" She piped sarcastically, "Can you find the Dragonball now?"

He sighed and nodded to her. She smiled happily and lifted herself up. He turned around and ducted back into the water, and with that he started to search for the Dragonball among the rocks nestled at the bottom.

Underwater, it was like floating in a pure blue void of nothing, except for the murky grey rocks scattering the floor. Knocking out the thoughts of the beautiful underwater, he dove down further until he was touching the rocky floor with his feet, feet that still had shoes on them might I add!

He sighed, knowing his socks were completely ruined, and starting lifting rocks and larger rocks from the ground and searching under them. The orange shimmer that usually always made it easier to find the blasted balls didn't seem to be present around him.

After a couple more minutes of searching aimlessly, he felt his lungs start to shrivel up. In an instinctive reaction he clutched his throat and kicked off the bottom, shooting himself back up to the surface.

Meanwhile, Videl lay impatiently in her seat. Her fingers were drumming against the brim of her chair in an annoyed gesture. The reason for her annoyance is the fact that she was being strangely quiet towards these people and she felt she wasn't helping much.

Whenever she was on police business, she was the one doing all the work, well at least until Goh-I mean 'Great Saiyaman' was on the scene, then it was more like a partnership thing… But here! She didn't even know what these dragonball things do! _Better ask Chi-Chi about that later._

Throwing her thoughts to the side, she lifted herself up from the seat and trotted over to the group, who were waiting for the clothes-concerned Yamcha. She arrived just as he jumped to the surface to get some air.

"Did you get it?" Chi-Chi asked him as she eyed his hands, they were still underwater so it was a bit hard to check.

"Not yet…" He replied disappointedly.

Videl's eyes lit up _Perfect!_ was her last thought before she ran to the front of the group and stretched into a diving position, "I'll get it!" She exclaimed happily. With that she kicked off the edge of the doorway and dived perfectly into the water.

Yamcha watched her sink down with a raised eyebrow, but was suddenly brought back to the group in the ship by an aching feeling in his head. He looked the occupants over, wondering who just hit him. His eyes widened when he noticed Chi-Chi, frying pan raised. He floated there in shock; does she carry that thing everywhere with her? They were miles away from a kitchen!

"Help her!" The wife of Goku suddenly screeched, causing Yamcha to jump back in fear, "Hurry up!" She yelled again.

Yamcha gulped and dived back into the water after Videl.

He noticed her digging around aimlessly, a look of determination across her face. He swam over to her and began to help her dig through the underwater gravel.

To their surprise, the ground suddenly started moving underneath them. Yamcha and Videl bumped into each other as they jumped up, making them both feel a bit dizzy. Videl quickly shot up to the surface as she started to loose much needed air, Yamcha followed close behind. As he popped up next to her, the question, "Did you get it?" Was yet again asked.

Both shook their heads and turned to each other, wondering what just happened. "Did you see that?" Videl asked him with an eyebrow raised, Yamcha simply nodded. "Well let's get a closer look!"

Yamcha simply floated there, dumbfounded, as his female companion dove back into the water and started heading for the bottom again. He was pulled, and I mean that literally, out of his stage of clueless-ness as she grabbed his foot and dragged him back under.

He flung his hands up in surprise before finding himself floating next to Videl, underwater once more.

Still having her hold on his foot, she pulled him further down, up until they were on the ocean floor.

They felt the ground roll over, sending them both backwards by the force. Videl groaned and stomped on the ground harshly, using as much strength as she could.

A loud growl startled them. Videl and Yamcha both jumped into fighting stances to get ready for whatever was to come. Both sets of eyes widened as the ground lifted high into the air, standing at 20 feet tall, much higher than them that's for sure. The growl became louder and the dirt from the creature started to fall off. Both gulped and swam for the surface in panic.

Catching their breath again, they jumped into the water to get a better look at the creature. To their surprise, it was chewing on a small orange object. They quickly jumped to the surface once realizing what it was.

"The dragonball!" Both said at the same time.

Before another word could be uttered the creature rose from the watery depths and started descending down towards the two.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as they both watched it. Taking a moment to study it, Videl and Yamcha both noticed the monster was more like a giant snake. It was covered in glittering blue scales with a white one here and there. Its mouth opened wide as it continued to fall, revealing large yellowed teeth and a deadly orange tongue, the dragonball lying peacefully on top of it.

"Look out!"

The voice snapped them out of their daze and they both sprung to the side. The helicopter seemed to jolt in the opposite direction as them as another attempt to get out of the way. The water was uplifted as the monster impacted, throwing both swimming humans back. The last sight they received of the snake was its fish-like, blue, see-through tail.

They both gasped for breath once the waves finally stopped, they sighed with relief as a second action and floated there harmlessly. The both turned to each other, expecting someone to come up with a plan.

"What do we do?" Videl asked, silence was all that followed.

"Fight it?" Yamcha answered finally, answering a question with another question was not what they needed right now.

"Suicide." She stated plainly.

"Damn!" Yamcha pounded his fist on the clear blue water in frustration, "Well I'm out of idea's! Better get some backup!" He started to swim for the ship.

Videl just watched him, a little too scared to move. She sighed and finally threw an arm forward to start swimming after him when a movement caught her eye. The area around it glowed a dark blue. It was advancing on Yamcha at a rather fast pace too. Suddenly realizing what it was, she reached out a hand towards him and screamed at the top of her lungs:

"YAMCHA! BEHIND YOU!"

The monster rose into the air behind Yamcha. Yamcha swung around and called back to her, "WHAT?" His question was answered as his eyes met with the scaly creatures light-blue belly. "Oh…"

Videl shielded her eyes as the creature headed for Yamcha. The man didn't have time to move away; he was as good as dead. About half a minute later the monster was once again submerged in the water. Videl hung her head low and let her arms drop into the water and hang at her sides; she was waiting for it to eat her too.

Barely anytime past at all before the snake could be seen once again. She bit down on her lip in fear and waited for the worst to come. It never did.

She looked up to notice the creature was coughing loudly and painfully. A sickening crunch was heard and a black haired figure shot out of the mouth through a self made hole.

The creature screamed as part of its lip was torn right off. It fell into the water backwards and landed with a loud 'thud'.

Videl couldn't help but gag as a salvia-covered figure fell through the air and towards the clear water, a small glowing ball held tightly in their fingers. The person threw his hand into the air, letting everyone see the orange artifact.

A terrible smell reached her nose as the mysterious person stopped suddenly, floating only inches from the surface of the water.

"Yamcha!" She gagged out, holding her nose.

Yamcha frowned at her, "Hey! You try almost being digested by some large, HIDEOUS snake and see how you like it!" With that said he dropped into the water, instantly cleaning him of all the disgusting stuff that was in that beast's mouth.

Videl just rolled her eyes and went off in a dash towards the little helicopter. Once there she pulled herself in and placed her butt on a seat. She blushed slightly when she noticed she was soaking wet and dripping all over the chair and tiled floor.

"Oh here honey."

She turned around to notice Chi-Chi holding a towel up for her; she smiled and started scrubbing her hair.

"Dragonball?"

Another voice yet again caused her to turn around, coming face-to-face with Bulma.

"Yamcha's got it." She stated plainly and returned to scrubbing herself off.

As if on cue, Yamcha jumped into the ship and grabbed a towel off to the side of him. He didn't have time to blink after that, Bulma was already right in his face with her hand outstretched. "Number four." He said proudly and dropped the dragonball into her palm.

The woman smiled widely. She brought the ball up to her face, noticing the seven red stars glittering against the sunlight.

……………………………

It was only ten minutes later before the dragonball group reached their next destination, a large deserted area.

"Well were here!"

Bulma called to the pilot, Yamcha. He nodded and landed peacefully on the hard sandy ground. With a hiss the engine turned itself off instantly. He made his way over to the exit. In one quick motion he opened the door and hoped out. Bulma was next to follow, and then the rest.

On her own, Bulma started walking around in random directions, trying to get a more specific reading on the radar. After about 6 more minutes of searching, the dragonball tracker started to 'beep' crazily. She took a few steps forward and finally felt that familiar jumping up and down of the device. She looked up, coming face to face with a thick, brown mountain.

She inspected it for a second before pushing the device against the wall and watched as the orange dot on the screen got bigger and bigger, _Yep! This is it!_ She concluded to herself before turning to the others, who were doing nothing in particular and looking extremely bored.

"Get over here!"

She yelled towards them. As a rather satisfying reaction they all jumped 10 feet in the air and slowly made their way over to her. Once they were all there she decided to speak:

"The dragonball is in here somewhere…" She tapped the side of the mountain with a red-nailed finger to show them what she meant.

All she got were blank stares.

"Well!" She yelled angrily, punching the wall hard in the process, "Start digging!"

More blank stares.

Eighteen was the only one without a blank expression. She stood up and made her way over to the mountain, leaving her daughter with Videl. She tapped the mountain with a bit of her strength and the wall instantly collapsed, revealing a small tunnel going through it.

The android woman shifted to the side and let them file in. As Videl passed, Eighteen took her child back and went in after them.

Within minutes they were walking through a pitch-black cave. Tiny squeaks was the only sound this cave seemed to contain. Bulma, who was in front, stopped and turned back to the group.

"Okay can one of your use that walking lamp trick for me? It's kind of hard to see."

All turned to Yamcha. They would have also asked this from Eighteen too but she didn't really have a life force like full humans did.

Sighing, the scarred faced 'ladies man' powered up to his max, causing a dim bluey-white glow to surround him. The cave grew a little brighter, but not by much.

"It'll have to do…" Bulma stated disappointedly. She turned around to start walking again, only for her to bump into a solid wall, "Dead end!" She groaned as she landed on her back on the ground.

Bulma growled and pushed the dragon radar, yet again up to the wall, just to make sure they were still going in the right direction. It didn't do anything, so she turned to the wall on her left. Getting the satisfying reaction, she pushed her finger up to it, signalling for Eighteen to yet again knock it down.

The blond android walked up to the dirt made wall and punched it with little to no force. It all dropped to the ground again, revealing yet another tunnel.

Bulma nodded her head happily and led the group through.

A few more minutes passed before they finally reached their destination. Noticing the small sphere sitting in the middle of their path, Bulma ran over to it and plucked it off the ground. Instantly water started pouring into the cave from the hole the dragonball was once nestled in.

Bulma felt a rise of panic in her body as the water continued to fill in. She quickly grabbed a rock and threw it at the hole. The rock bounced harmlessly over the round implant in the ground and ended up lying against the wall on the other side.

She turned around, hoping to ask the others for help. She stopped herself however when she noticed they were all running in the same direction they had come. Bulma growled as she watched them and sprinted off after them.

"Don't you dare leave me behind!" She yelled angrily at their retreating backs.

Forgetting them for a second, she glanced back. What she saw shocked her. The water was rising incredibly fast; it was almost impossible considering how long this darn tunnel was! She stumbled slightly, causing her to focus more on where she was going.

The water beneath her was now to her ankles and a dark brown colour, no doubt from the mud on the walls. She ignored the horrible feeling in her socks and continued to run, although she did notice it was getting harder and harder thanks to the thickness of the water. She smiled to herself once noticing she was gaining on the others.

The others paid no mind to her as they continued to run.

After a few more minutes of hard running and the water reaching everyone's waists, they finally saw a light, marking the outside world. Bulma practically dived through the exit in excitement, along with a few others.

Bulma turned around to notice Yamcha jump into the air and land a kick at the top of the cave, causing a large amount of dirt to fall into the entrance and cover it up completely.

Bulma sighed with relief and held a dirt and water covered dragonball up to her face. She wiped off a large amount of the muck all over it and admired the one bold star on it before making her way over to the aircraft.

"Number five!" She told the people around her happily before hoping into the ship.

……………………………

To be continued…

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Ok… For this chapter absolutely nothing else happened other than them finding the dragonballs! But I assure you, by chapter 10 you'll be back in the action!

This section is going to be short this time around, so let me just add the usual: Posted on 03 April 2005 – 3331 words! Short…


	10. Awkward Questions

Chapter ten – The Remaining Dragonballs Intermission : Awkward Questions

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: Last time I checked Akira Toriyama owned Dragonball Z

This chapter is only going to focus on Chichi, Bulma and most importantly Videl! I hope you enjoy it! I must warn you that it's probably the shortest chapter next to the prologue I have written so far!

Wow! I've been working on this fic for exactly one month now! I'm so proud!

Remember! I don't really expect anyone to review this chapter or the last one! These are just small pointless one's you could probably do without… Enjoy!

Onto review replies!

Ok so for the last chapter there weren't really any reviews to reply to… That's understandable though! This whole dragonball hunting thing is taking up a few chapters… But it's good just to get them all out of the way!

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The chopper landed peacefully in the middle of a sweet little forest. Random woodland creatures looked on as the yellow helicopter's door swung open to reveal a group of people, who all started to pile out. A few little animals ran for cover as one woman stood out among the rest. The crazy, yelling, frying-pan swinging harpy who lived in the cosy little cottage only a mile away, she was with them. Oh did they remember her! She disrupted them many times. The list went from screeching at her husband and sons about nothing in particular, to telling someone by the name of 'Gohan' to 'Get up and Get ready for school already'.

Chichi on the other hand was happy to be back home. She sucked in the pine sent around her through her nose and turned to one of her companions, 'Bulma' they think it was.

"Are you sure the next Dragonball is here Bulma?" She asked her friend sweetly, surprising a few of the animals present that had taken cover in the trees.

"Positive!" A blue haired woman replied.

"Well!" Chichi started, stretching a bit, "Might as well go to the house and pick up a few supplies!" She started trotting in the direction she believed the house to be in, "My Goku will be hungry after he beats this 'Babidi' guy."

Bulma sweatdropped. How can she act so calm when the one they're off facing could very well be the next threat to the universe?

"I just hope Gohan and Goten aren't involved," The harpy to the forest said, interrupting Bulma's train of thought, "Because if they are!" Chichi clenched one of her fists together, that's the woman the forest knows! "Lets just say if Goku wasn't dead I'd kill him!" Chichi calmed down and started swinging her hands in the air, "Although a good flying pan in the head would do a lot more damage!"

Chichi continued her rant on what she would do if Goku let Gohan and Goten get involved all the way back to the little cottage nestled in the middle of a large open area. Her home.

Her voice died down as she reached the door. She smiled and stuck her hand into one of her many pockets, searching for the silver key, which is intended to open the house. She pulled the small object out and started to jiggle it around in the lock. After a few seconds the door made a satisfying 'click' sound and let the people head in.

Once inside Chichi dashed for her small kitchen in the back of the house, leaving everyone else to walk around while waiting for her to finish whatever she was doing.

A bored Oolong lay down on the red couch in the Son living room. He picked up the remote and turned on the T.V, absentmindedly flipping through the channels.

"…just won two million doll…"

"…you know something I don't?…"

"…call our 0800 number…"

"…Feeling hungry…"

"…one, two, three and stretch…"

"…Kiss me…"

"…next, on Cartoonnetwork…"

"…get away from me!…"

The channels continued to flick on and off like this, catching the attention of one flying purple-blue cat by the name of Puar, along with Master Roshi, our favourite dirty old man. Now three sat on the couch watching T.V.

Bulma walked into the kitchen after Chichi, seeing how nothing was going on in here.

Eighteen leaned against the wall in a corner of the room, watching the channel surfers with a squirming little Marron in her comforting arms. The little blond girl leaped out of Mommy's arms and started running around happily, causing Eighteen to shake her head and watch the 3-year old.

After some hesitation, Yamcha joined the boy's, and Puar, on the couch in their quest to find a good channel.

Videl simply observed the room she was in, looking at any photo's that caught her eye. Mainly one's of Gohan, there was something truly fascinating about that boy. One photo really spiked her interest. It was one taken right before the Cell games. A golden haired man stood in the middle; one arm around his wife's hips and the hand connected to the other one scruffling the hair of a small, also golden haired, child. The delivery boy! So Gohan really was in the Cell Games! She smiled to herself and moved to the next picture.

Videl's patience disappeared in an instant. She sighed and headed for the kitchen, hoping to find out what was taking so long. Just before leaving the room she took a peak at the clock, turns out she'd only been in the house for four minutes, I guess being patient wasn't one of her strengths.

More photos decorated the walls of the hallway. They were mostly Chichi and Goku ones, a few Gohan and Goten pictures here and there too I suppose. The sound of voices snapped her out of her photo staring and directed her attention towards the small white room up ahead.

The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open, making her presence known in an instant.

"Hello Videl Honey!" Chichi chirped to the newcomer.

Videl smiled at the woman, "Hi," She said simply. She walked over to the table in the middle of the kitchen and took a seat next to a smiling Bulma.

Both, past their teenager years, woman gave each other a look before giving Videl their full and undivided attention, causing Videl to squirm a little in her seat. It was the question they threw at her that really got her to feel awkward.

"Do you like Gohan?" This question came from no other than Gohan's dear mother.

She blushed a dark red, "No! I mean he's a nice guy and everything but I don't… No!" The young girl turned back to her normal colour. Tapping her chin she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Friend?" Bulma asked first.

"Yes."

"Close friend?" This came from Chichi

"Yes."

"Best friend?" Continuing their pattern, Bulma was the one to ask this.

"One of them, Yes!"

"Boyfriend?" The most embarrassing came from Chichi.

"Ye- What! No!"

_Slip up! I almost said yes!_ Videl thought to herself, _Why would I almost say that anyway? I don't love Gohan! Do I?_ The young teen continued to battle with herself, causing a concentrated expression to come over her face.

The two older women looked at each other, questioning the girl's sanity for a moment. That passed instantly of course! No daughter-in-law of Chichi's was going to be labelled insane!

Strangely, the two women smirked at each other. Videl suddenly regretted coming in here, who would of thought a girl talk could get so personal all of a sudden? Videl gulped as they looked at her again _What do you want from me?_ She yelled at them in her head, unable to really ask the women in front of her directly.

_GRANCHILDREN!_ Chichi's mind seemed to screech , unknowingly answering Videl. She let out a giggle on the outside and went back to her cooking.

"Maybe we should go get the Dragonball now…" Videl suggested quietly, hoping to get out of her current awkward situation.

Bulma picked up the dragon radar and stood up from her seat. "I'll get the boy's to do it!" She smiled and headed out the door, leaving Videl with one happy Chichi.

"So will I be expecting Grandchildren anytime soon?" Chichi asked out of the blue.

"What!" Videl screeched, "Aren't you moving a bit fast here?"

"No."

Videl sighed, slumped back in her chair and raised a hand to her head, slapping it absentmindedly. "Ow," She said quietly as the slap connected.

"You didn't answer my question."

Videl looked up and narrowed her eyebrows, "Look, Gohan and I aren't even dating!"

Chichi turned around and looked at her, confused, "Does it matter?"

Videl blinked, what was wrong with this woman?

"Darn right it does!" Videl yelled, slamming her fist on the table.

Chichi growled. No one talked to her like that! Not even her future daughter-in-law. Using every once of willpower she contained, she ignored what the teenager had said and continued to cook.

Three loud 'clangs' suddenly sounded from down the hall, followed by the groans of those hit in the living room. Videl winced at that point. From what she had seen today these women were absolutely crazy, that sound was probably a frying-pan connection, metal hitting flesh. _Maybe I should get one of those when I marry Goha- Stop right there!_ Videl mentally kicked herself. Did she just think that?

At that moment Bulma walked in, interrupting Videl's thoughts and also ridding her of the awkwardness still present in the room after alone time with Chichi, even if it was a rather short time.

"They won't be back for awhile," Bulma said as she sat down.

Videl smiled nervously at the blue haired woman, who smiled back.

"Anything I missed?" Bulma said sweaty to the two occupying the room.

"Nothing much…" Videl mumbled, barley loud enough for anyone to hear, _This woman has just been getting on my case about grandchildren!_ Videl said to herself in a yell.

All went quiet for a while; the only sound in the room was Chichi's constant humming! It was driving Videl nuts!

Young Videl lifted herself from her seat and made her way over to the door, "I think I'll go and get some fresh air!" She said to the other girls in the room. With a smile she left, thankful she was out of that hellhole.

As the girl exited the room Chichi let out a squeal and turned to Bulma with little hearts in her eyes. "I'm seeing wedding bells Bulma!" She exclaimed happily, causing the older woman to flinch.

"Uh Chichi…"

"We need invitations!"

"Chichi…"

"And decorations!"

Chichi!"

"Can't forget the cake!"

"CHICHI!"

When silence followed, Bulma is finally able to ask her question:

"Shouldn't you tell them they're getting married first?"

"What?" Chichi asks, not looking back.

"Nevermind." Bulma says as she rubs her brow absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, while Chichi continues to plan. Videl walks through the hallway again, admiring the photos and art all over the walls. She smiles when spotting a small piece of paper labelled 'Family', the words 'By Son Goten' are written at the bottom in the seven-year-old's messy handwriting.

She giggles a bit at how funny the people look, mainly stick figures.

One stick had a black ball above their head with another one on top, Chichi's hairstyle I'm sure. The figure had a poorly drawn yellow t-shirt on with a small blue dress to top it off.

A tall figure was placed in the middle. Its hair stood up in sharp spikes and they were wearing a blue training gi with a red sash and a red set of weighted wristbands. This one was no doubt Gohan.

The third person was the smallest. Probably Goten. Large lines stuck out of his head in all directions and he was wearing a cute little orange gi with a long-sleeved blue undershirt, kind of like the uniform Goku wears.

She smiled at the cute pictures Goten drew and continued down the small hallway. She kept wondering why she had stopped at that picture; it was quite funny! Although she had to admit it was rather cute…

Only a few more seconds followed before she managed to reach the living room.

The only occupants of the room were Puar, who was watching T.V mindlessly, and Eighteen, someone who was in the same spot she was when Videl left. She was watching her daughter scurry around the room.

She smiled at how cosy it was before heading for the outside door. Once the door swung open she stepped out and started to take a walk around the open plain. Her hands were safely swung behind her back and she was whistling as she walked.

This was the time for Videl to be left with her thoughts. Thoughts about everything! Everything she learning today that was too farfetched for someone to even dream of. About how her father wasn't the hero she always thought he was. And Gohan… The boy with too many secrets to count!

But first things first! All the stuff she had learned before Gohan had gone off after Babidi and Majin Buu. He's half Alien and the true victor of the Cell games! There were still more secrets that boy had, she could feel it! He is defiantly hiding why he even went into training, I mean! He doesn't even act like he enjoys it; fun seems to be the only thing he wants out of it, just pointless, fun sparring.

And what about her Father not beating Cell? How could he hide that from her when she was his own daughter? Stealing credit from a small boy was defiantly an all time low too. It is amazing however that he's had this lie bottled up for so long and he doesn't even seem guilty! I bet he would be if he ever met Gohan again. She laughed lightly as she walked on.

She took this time to observe the trees and the plants and the grass. She bent down to her knees and rested her head on a nearby tree trunk. The grass felt good beneath her fingers, so relaxing.

This relaxing state however was ripped away when a loud 'whoosh' sound passed her and there standing in front of her was Yamcha, holding up the sixth dragonball. Its two big stars shone brightly in the sun.

The scurrying of feet brought her attention to the left. Master Roshi and Oolong were running in their direction.

Yamcha swung around so he was facing the house and yelled towards it:

"Number six!"

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To be continued…

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Posted on the 05 April 2005 – 2499 words


	11. Stranded

Chapter eleven – The Remaining Dragonballs: Dinosaurs & Tiny Islands

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I'm sure you can answer that yourself.

This chapter gets me past that 40,000-word mark! Boo-yah!

Since this chapter is yet another pointless dragonball hunt I thought maybe I could ask the readers a few questions on what they'd like to see in future chapters.

More one question I've been meaning to ask is to do with Uub. If and when I carry this into GT I'd like to know if anyone wants Buu to be reincarnated into Uub. Its all a matter of if Goku wishes for it or not. So review in your opinions under this chapter so I can find out what you think.

Does anyone want Goku and Gohan to fight again anytime soon or should the fight in chapters 5-8 be the only one?

If there is anything else the people reading this story would like to see just tell me! I would love to know what would keep you reading!

Onto review replies!

LauraNeatO: Now that I think about it I like that line too. It's truthful right. We get to see what Videl thinks of her father taking Gohan's credit! Of course we all know he didn't want it… But I'm sure he didn't want someone to take it either!

"Stealing credit from a small boy was defiantly an all time low too" is the line I'm talking about in case you didn't know.

Lady-kagome84: It was kind of my fault that chapter 9 & 10 were the same for a while, I accidentally uploaded chapter 10 into chapter nine but its fixed now so don't worry!

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Yamcha groaned as he left the house. He clutched the Dragon radar in his hand and stared at it. Just a mile or so north and they would be there! He rubbed his head where Bulma had hit him with that nasty Frying Pan. And he thought Chichi was the only person with one of those dang kitchen utensils, or the only who used it as a weapon at least.

So there he was. Looking for the sixth dragonball with an old perverted man and some smelly pink pig, all at Bulma's 'request'. To top it off a pan in the head! That blue-haired walking-horn was absolutely crazy.

He couldn't understand why Puar or Eighteen didn't have to come with them. Must be a girl thing…

Pushing his comments of Bulma to the back of his mind, he raised the Dragonball Radar up to his eye-level. A dragonball was only a mile off from their current location, not too far.

He turned to the two beside him, hating the silence all three of them seemed to be casting.

"So…" He began, but stopped. _What next?_

"So…" Oolong's voice sounded to the left of him, repeating what he had just said.

_Kami! _Yamcha screamed in his head.

"Will you two hurry up and say something!" Master Roshi screeched from Yamcha's other side.

A vein on the top of Oolong's head appeared, "I don't see you saying anything old man!"

And so the verbal conflict between an old man and his pig began.

Master Roshi stopped where he was, letting the other two keep on walking. Oolong stopped too, leaving Yamcha to walk on his own. Knowing he couldn't go without them, Yamcha too stopped where he was, a little bit away from the pig and the pervert.

"I'll teach you to speak to your elders that way!" Master Roshi yelled while waving his walking stick in the air wildly.

"Make me!" The pig yelled back.

"You whippersnappers don't know what you're talking about!" Master Roshi growled and stomped a brown shoed foot on the solid ground.

"Shut up old man!" Oolong shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a snicker, "You NEVER know what you're talking about."

Master Roshi glared at the pig through his black stained glasses, only for Oolong to return it with his own icy look. How Oolong could tell Master Roshi was glaring at him in beyond me!

But back to the only sane one in this little group…

Yamcha let out a sigh and decided to look for the dragonball on his own. He started to walk in the other direction with the radar pulled up to his nose, letting the bickering men – more like children - behind him continue without an audience.

With each step he took a soft crunching sound echoed below his feet, curse autumn eh? The sounds of the argument behind him were growing dim thankfully and he was able to walk in peace. A walk on his own, floating in his personal little world, with the exception of having to find a small magic orange ball in a continuous forest with only a green flashing radar to help him and the fact that the group haven't found a dragonball peacefully in the entire search yet! But where's the fun in it if it wasn't at least a little hard?

The sound of rocks falling into a never ending abyss and his left foot stepping onto nothing but the edge of a mountain knocked him out of his never-a-peaceful-dragonball-hunt thoughts. The radar hummed peacefully in his hand as he leaned over the edge.

"Great… Just Great…"

His mutter caused an echo to be heard from the dark ditch below him. As his voice came back 2 times louder he shuddered and leaned over a little more until he had to use his ki energy to stop himself from falling off.

He sighed and dived into the deep void with a high jump.

As he descended down a black tinge coloured his body, giving him a darker look than normal. He kept his eyes on the radar, just in case the dragonball was wedged in the wall of the wide hole. He shifted to the side slightly to force the orange ball on the radar to 'beep' again and shift to the middle of the screen, meaning he was directly above his goal thankfully.

Only a few more minutes past before he was able to land gracefully on his feet at the very bottom, and he thought it didn't have one!

A set of razor sharp teeth caught his eye from the left of him. He gasped and jumped back as fast as he could, narrowly dodging the attack made by none other than a huge brown T-rex.

The dinosaur let out a powerful groan as it pulled its teeth out of the rocky surface known only as the ground. Once that was done it swung around to face Yamcha and it opened its large mouth to let out a loud roar, almost throwing one of the strongest men on the planet off his feet.

Yamcha struggled to keep the dragon radar in his grasp as he felt the wind from the dinosaur's second roar come at him with twice as much force as the last one. He braced himself and went flying backwards. He managed to catch himself with the dragon radar still right where he left it, in his hands.

He sighed in relief but had to jump to the right as the monster ran at him again with its head lowered in an attempt to strike. The dinosaur stopped itself and sent an icy glare towards Yamcha, making the human gulp loudly.

It only took a few more seconds for the T-rex to attack again, only with its claws this time. Yamcha quickly moved backwards to get out of the way, only for those dangerous and life-threatening claws to graze his soft skin. Tears came to his eyes as he felt the affect of the blow. He swiped lightly over his skin and brought his hand to his eyes where blood dripped from his fingertips freely.

"Shit!"

Just as he finished his curse a different dinosaur pounded him in the back and sent him flying forward. Yamcha managed to catch himself just as he came to the wall of the mountain. He flipped over and planted his feet on the side of the mountain and got ready to kick off.

He generated a small proportion of ki in his fist and let it blaze in a fiery glow around his hand; making it look like that particular body part was of course on fire with some kind of blue flame.

"Sorry to have to do this…" He whispered regretfully as he shot his hand forward and jumped off the side of the mountain, gaining a huge speed boost thanks to the pressure of pushing off something.

He headed for the monster at an unimaginable speed with his one arm outstretched. The fist came in contact with the dinosaur's chest and shot through it. He came out the other side and landed on his feet, covered from head to toe in the dino's blood. A loud 'thud was heard behind him and that same dinosaur dropped to the ground, dead.

"Yuck!"

Yamcha looked at himself in disgust. He shook the blood off his hands and turned to face the rest of the dinosaurs. They all suddenly ambushed him.

"Double Shit!"

At that signal, every creature present charged him in a fit of rage from killing a fellow dinosaur. Yamcha suddenly regretted that highly. He raised his hands above his head and waited for them to hit him. Once they did he went flying back.

As he was sailing, he caught a glimpse of a small orange object sitting in a nest. Upon seeing it, he stopped himself and dove for it, only for a little dinosaur to bite down on his hand as he attempted to grab it, hard too. He yelped and retreated backwards into the air and away from it.

A bone shattering screech left his lips as yet another dinosaur charged him. He wasn't able to catch himself in time and ended up skidding across the dirt, leaving a human sized skid mark implanted in the earth. "Ow…" He groaned weakly, lifted himself to his feet and looked up.

Another dinosaur was seen charging at him.

He let another groan escape his lips and raised his fingers to his eyes. He wondered if his next attack would work all the way down here, needing the sun and all. His hands dropped to his sides and he looked up to notice he could still see the sun; maybe it would work.

With that small speak of hope he raised his fingers back up to his eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"SOLAR FLARE!"

A satisfying wave of blinding light filled the area. Yamcha closed his eyes airtight in order to dodge his attack's affects. When he opened them again the dinosaurs around him had dropped to the ground and were clutching their eyes in a pathetic attempt to be able to see again. We all know it won't work.

Yamcha smirked at his work and made his way over to the dragonball he desired, having it would mean his mission would be complete.

He picked it up peacefully and flew for the top of the ALMOST bottomless pit.

At the top he arrived to the sight of Master Roshi and Oolong still in their heated stare.

"Come on guys! I have the sixth dragonball!"

They paid no attention to Yamcha.

"GUYS!"

"Huh! What?" Both pig and man asked at the same time.

Yamcha slapped his head in frustration before pulling a dragonball into their line of view and shaking it at them in a rather angry manner. "I have the dragonball!" He raised his voice when saying this, "We can go now!"

Master Roshi came up to the lad and thumped him on the back, "Well why didn't you say so boy?" It was a rhetorical question of course.

A look of disgust came over the old man's face and he pulled his hand away from Yamcha to stare at it. "You're covered in…" The hermit brought his hand closer to his face before jumping back in horror. "BLOOD!"

"Dinosaur blood actually." Yamcha stated plainly before brushing past him and walking over to Oolong.

"Gee Yamcha…" The pig stated as Yamcha passed him too, "What happened to you?" He raised an eyebrow to add emphasis to his question.

"Lets just forget about it ok! We have the dragonball now lets go!" Yamcha growled impatiently when they stayed glued to their spots, "Well?"

"You should probably get a bath first you know!" Oolong - suddenly finding Yamcha's situation funny - burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Yamcha asked cluelessly, with a little anger mixed in.

Oolong didn't answer and continued to laugh.

"Forget him!" Master Roshi said as he walked pasted the pig, "He's an idiot!" Oolong stopped laughing and sent the old man a glare.

Seeing the argument starting up again, Yamcha stepped in, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Can we not start this again!"

Master Roshi stared over at him, "Fine! Fine! Now come on! I saw a small stream on our way up here!" He stated as he walked in front of the group, "Follow me!" The old man motioned to the way he was heading.

Both Oolong and Yamcha nodded and followed after the rather fast-walking hermit.

And so we finally catch up to the end of good ol' chapter ten.

……………………………

And so the search for those darn dragonballs continues, they were thankfully onto their last one.

Videl sat with her back turned to the two women organizing her wedding, playing with little Marron. The small blond girl let out a loud giggle as our favourite female teenager -and only candidate for Gohan's future wife- tickled the 3-year-old insanely. The giggles grew louder as time ticked by.

"GO FISH!"

Eighteen watched on with hidden amusement as her daughter began to struggle under the attack of one Videl Satan. She lay with her back against the wall and her arms across her chest. Her face taking on it never-changing neutral look. She slouched a little in her seat and looked around the tiny ship in order for her to find out what everyone else was doing. Its not like she cared or anything, just… curious I suppose.

"GO FISH!"

Master Roshi and Oolong seemed to be playing a game of cards with each other silently. In fact the only sounds that came from them is when someone yelled out, 'Go Fish!' – As we continue to hear - Which got even more annoying each time they said it. Nothing interesting about them…

"GO FISH!"

Yamcha was of course paying no attention to the others as he was too busy working on the controls to get them to their destination. With Puar hovering above his shoulders.

"GO FISH!"

And then there were the other women in the ship, planing Videl and Gohan's wedding, loudly I might add. Their comments on bells, ministers, dresses, tuxes, musicians, guests, cakes, something blue, something borrowed, something new, gifts, prices, shoes, centrepieces and anything else that concerned weddings were driving our android lady friend up the wall.

"GO FISH!"

Eighteen sent an unnoticed glare towards Master Roshi and Oolong as the pig picked up a card from the pile. As the plane jolted forward, she was brought out of her glaring and overall thinking to curiously stare around the inside of the craft.

"What was that?" Chichi screamed as they were pushed again.

Alarm was the only emotion filling each of their bodies.

And again something hit the craft, causing it to spiral uncontrollably. Now panic mixed with the past emotion and Chi-Chi started screaming, why did Bulma have to join her? It was the most ear-splitting racket on the entire earth! As they continued to spin, everything started to fly around and bounce off the walls.

One more unidentified kick forced the door to swing open, revealing the rushing winds outside. That's when the dragonballs started flying out, raising everybody's panic levels yet again. First the two star, then seven! Four! One! Three! And finally the six star dragonball headed out the open door.

Eighteen, our current observer, jumped to action and flew out the door. She instantly started looking for the dragonballs, which were falling helplessly toward the ground I might add.

In a flash of invisible light Eighteen was already hot on their tail, forgetting about the spiralling ship and all the people in it.

The first dragonball she spotted was an easy one to reach.

It had barely started its fall when the female managed to swipe it quickly and nestle it safely under her arm so she would still be able to get the other dragonballs with two hands.

The next one she spotted had already landed… in the ocean!

In one big splash she had emerged down into the water and had already touched the bottom. With the need to breath threatening her life, she picked up the dragonball and kicked off the bottom toward the surface. Yet another huge splash signalled she was back in the air and ready for the rest of those darn orange spheres. She quickly placed her newest dragonball with the other one.

Her eyes caught the next dragonball as it landed in a tree and started to drop through the branches.

Thinking of an easy way to get the next one-in-seven object, she flew to the ground under the tree and waited for it to reach her. With her arm outstretched she managed to catch the ball when it landed in her hand. She flashed a small smile and stuffed it into a pocket.

Before she could even think yet another dragonball landed across from her. She picked it up and looked up, watching as the last two dragonballs dropped from the sky. Without any emotion she grabbed them and headed for the people on the ship.

Not being able to see them in the sky anymore, she started looking around. She spotted them on a small island and instantly started flying towards them at top speeds.

Only a few seconds of flying later she reached her destination.

There the aircraft was. A yellow, metal banged up mess lying on an endless grassy plain, which resided on a small green island in the middle of the ocean, middle of nowhere really.

Eighteen let out a small sigh and made her way over to the group as she inspected the mess; luckily no one was hurt. A small cry jolted our android friend's head over to the left.

"MOMMY!" Marron screamed again as she ran to her mother.

Eighteen bent over onto her knee and her daughter jumped into her arms. A motherly smile appeared on her face as the girl in her arms beamed up at her happily with those sweet coal-black eyes of hers.

But lets leave the mother-daughter moment for a bit and switch over to Bulma, a woman who is stressing over the fact that her 'beautiful' helicopter in dead, or as dead as any metal object can be.

"AHHH!" Her screech started everyone a bit, "How are we supposed to get to Capsule Corp. now!" A sniffle came out of her before she raised her fist to the sky and yelled like there was no tomorrow, "You stupid bird!"

Yes, a bird. They later figured out it was a rather large bird that had started kicking their aircraft and caused them to crash. They were able to catch a glimpse of it as they exited the helicopter with the support of Yamcha and Videl keeping them in the air instead of plummeting to their deaths. It had flown away like the coward it truly was when Chichi started yelling at it. _Thank Kami for that woman._

A very familiar orange shimmer caught her eye, causing her ranting and raving to stop. She walked over to the spot silently and bent down. She pushed a few blades of grass out of the way and came face to sphere with the seventh dragonball. The five stars covering the small ball shone brightly in her eyes.

"Well that's a bit of a heartbreaker…" Was all our favourite blue haired scientist said as she grabbed it and stood again. Anger flashed on her face. "The easiest dragonball of the lot and our ride is destroyed!"

And so that ranting and raving we were talking about before began again.

"Hey Bulma calm down!" Yamcha said, trying to of course calm her down.

"CALM DOWN! DON'T _YOU_ DARE TELL_ ME _TO CALM DOWN!" She sent back at him with an icy glare to finish it off.

A nervous laugh left his lips and he backed away from her.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted on the 15 April 2005 – 3507 words


	12. Search

Chapter twelve – Search for Gohan

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: Have you not figured it out by now?

Onto review replies!

simba-rulz: I understand the last three chapters were the most boring, at least they were good to some level. I understand for Gohan fans it would be quite frustrating! He may be out of it for a chapter or two more from this point! Hang in there people! The story is just getting started!

fireeyes: Glad to know you think they were funny! That was the main point of them too! Since nothing was really happening and this story would probably be getting dark soon I though I could spare you guys some humour!

……………………………

The small, scaly hands of one crazy little wizard held tightly onto the large purple cape of Majin Buu. It had been around two hours since they had started searching for Gohan and quite frankly it was getting rather boring. What his father's creation did when he was bored wasn't exactly pleasant, especially when you're sitting on his back.

So for those two hours Buu had been a total child! Now you know why never to give a machine gun to a six year old, they abuse that kind of power and go crazy with it. So Babidi had to endue as Buu crashed through buildings head on continuously and destroyed things in the most bizarre of ways, ways that always seem to leave the wizard speechless. Honestly! It was like being on a roller coaster! A roller coaster controlled by a child…

"AHHH!" Came the frightened squeal of the little wizard as Buu came face to face with yet another building. Buu's reply was a demented giggle before they ploughed through the wall and entered the offices of that particular building.

All Babidi could do was clutch his eyes as tight as he could and wait for it all to pass by. He felt the wind rush by and listened to the agonized screams of those around him, accompanied by another set of insane giggles from the monster under him. He opened his eyes hesitantly as Buu bashed through the very last wall. A screech let the wizard's lips one more time before the blue sky on the outside became all he could see, that and the flickering of a pink antenna.

In an exhausted groan, Babidi slouched in his seat on the monsters back. He let out a sigh and sat back up straight. He raised a scaly fist before bringing it down weakly on Buu's back. "IDIOT!" Babidi screamed and again punched Buu's back, "I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

A chuckle left the wizards lips as his mind travelled over to other things, preferably Gohan.

"You have more important things to do anyway…" Babidi said, more to himself than to Buu. The fact that Buu had just crashed through a building and nearly killed him seemed to have been forgotten. "Like finding the boy!" Babidi said this while shoving one of his scrawny hands into Buu's back in an attempt to push him forward.

A small growl let Buu's mouth without him intending it to, it was left unnoticed to the wizard.

"And I don't think we'll find him in the city!" The wizard hissed into the wind. The words worked their way into Buu's circular ear lobes where the monster could hear them. A new set of commands came from the wizards mouth as he continued to push into Buu's back, "Now get going!'

Buu's hands twitched as he gained the urge to squeeze every ounce of life from the wizard's frail little body. Two things were keeping him from doing what he so desired. One: He would be sealed inside that pink ball again until someone else decided to release him, and Two: Something was telling him it was wrong. So that was it! He wouldn't do it! Maybe later though…

Dropping his thoughts, Buu let a huge playful grin stretch across his face before he started to bob his head up and down in a 'yes' gesture. "Ok! Buu find Boy!" The second those childish words left the podgy pink lips of Majin Buu they where off! Shooting through the sky like a bullet, looking for a troubled youth somewhere on planet earth.

The screeching of the small wizard could be heard echoing in the trail of light that was flickering behind them.

……………………………

Brown boots touched down on the white surface. A green hand wiped across his brow and rid itself of the sweat on it. With a flick of the wrist, the sweat was splashed on the white tiles and already sinking into them. A set of antenna twitched in annoyance as he started to walk towards the building right in the middle of the circular object floating high above earth that he was now on, the lookout.

A short black haired man appeared in the doorway, the man started to look around. His face lit up when his eyes met with those of the green warrior that had just arrived. A happy smile appeared on the short guy's face and he started to shake a slightly muscled arm in the air in a wave gesture.

"Piccolo!"

Once his name was called Piccolo let out a huff and quickened his pace towards the door. Upon reaching it, he stopped in front of the small man. A gruff question let his lips as he towered over him, "How are the boys?"

Krillin quickly took a glance behind himself to see Mr. Popo rushing through the hall with a few blankets in his short, black arms. "Still unconscious…" He stated plainly before turning back to Piccolo, "But their doing just fine."

A small, almost unnoticeable smile appeared on Piccolo's lips as he brushed past Krillin and walked calmly through the halls. The retired monk swung around and started walking after Piccolo with as much might as his short legs could muster.

The second Krillin reached Piccolo; Dende came running up to them. He stopped in front of them and let out a forced breath before standing up straight. He looked up to meet Piccolo's gaze but stayed quiet.

Silence continued between the three of them before Krillin finally grew impatient and ended it completely, "What is it Dende?" This question caused Dende to turn to him. No emotion flashed on his face and he didn't answer him either, instead he pushed past the taller namek and made his way down the hallway to the entrance.

"Dende?" Krillin asked again. The teenage namek didn't stop until he reached the doorway. He took a quick glance behind himself before turning back to the way he was headed, outside.

Krillin looked up to Piccolo for a little guidance on Dende's actions but the oldest namek didn't say a thing, instead her followed after Dende in a quickened pace. Krillin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow before racing after them.

Krillin's foot stepped through the entrance and landed on the huge white tile known as the doorstep. He brought his hands to the frame and stared out. The first thing to catch his eyes was both Piccolo and Dende staring over the edge of the lookout with their backs to him.

Clutching the doorframe, Krillin pushed himself out and made his way calmly over to the two namekians. Once he was a few meters behind them he stopped and let out a long whistle. Almost in sync, both nameks swung around.

Krillin stepped back, scared of the expressions on both faces, expressions of irritation. Of course Piccolo had a cold glare that could turn anything to ice fixed on him also. He had already been stone today! He wasn't going to be frozen too!

"Never…" Piccolo said in a forced breath, he stopped to harden his glare, "Do that again!"

Yet again Krillin raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"Namekian ears Krillin." Dende answered for him. A small green palm was holding Piccolo's arm in an attempt to calm the older and much taller namekian down. "They're very sensitive."

A look of realization entered Krillin's features and altered them entirely. His arms flew up and he started yelling his apologies. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Krillin didn't stop until Dende's other hand came to rest on Krillin's own arm.

"Hey it's okay!" He reassured him. As Krillin hushed down, Dende moved his hand away and returned to looking over the lookout. His eyes darted everywhere along the mountains on earth, looking for something.

Piccolo let out a 'humph' before turning to Dende, "Do you know where Gohan is?" A sad expression came over his face as he remembered what might have happened to Gohan, he might just be Majin, he might just be the enemy.

Dende shook his head and turned back to Piccolo, "Sorry Piccolo. But I can't find him anywhere."

"What about Goku?" Krillin was the one to ask this, hoping his long-time friend was still okay.

"No I haven't seen him either. They all seem to be missing!"

Krillin let out a loud sigh and dropped to his butt on the tiled floor. He threw his head back to look up to the nameks standing over him, "With Vegeta dead and Goku and Gohan missing who's going to stop Majin Buu?"

A surprised look came over Dende's face and he jumped back, "You mean Majin Buu's still alive?"

Piccolo and Krillin looked at Dende, both detailed with the most priceless expressions of confusion anyone had ever seen. "You didn't know?" Krillin asked earth's guardian, still with his seat on the ground.

The most twisted shade of pink lit up the little god's face in total embarrassment. "Well you see…" Dende's eyes began to jolt around everywhere as he looked for a way out of this embarrassing situation. "I've been kinda busy looking for…" Dende stopped and began to fidget with his long, black-nailed fingers.

"The others?" Krillin asked, hoping to finish the little namekians sentence.

Dende beamed over at him and started to bob his head up and down. "Yeah the others!" Jumping followed in the rhythm of his head.

Piccolo couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had noticed lately that Dende had been filling up on a few beers when Earth became a bit too much for him, actually it was more like spiked water really. He never got drunk of course, that was no way for the guardian of earth to act, but he was only human… uh… namekian, he needed a break from time to time. Anyway that was probably the situation here. Having earth's warriors fall dead like flies wasn't exactly a good thing when an evil tyrant is stomping around earth.

"Anyway!" Piccolo said gruffly, interrupting the jumps of one VERY relieved little god, "I need to know something…" His words were caught in his throat, not wanting to say what was on his mind. "About Gohan…" He choked this out, starting his sentence again completely.

Dende's eyes widened a bit before turning to the ground, suddenly finding it the most interesting thing in the world. "I'm sorry Piccolo…" A trickle of tears appeared in his eyes and threatened to spill, "But it's true…" The tears now left his eyes and made a wet trail down his warm, green cheeks.

"No!" This was Krillin, "We all know Gohan! He's pure of heart! Babidi could never take him over!" He looked at the others with a hopeful smile, expecting some reassurance. He received nothing but sad looks from the two namekians.

"Krillin…" Dende placed a hand on the little man's shoulder, "Gohan's not all he seems to be…" He turned to Piccolo, the older namek nodded, "He's not like his father. He's not happy and go-lucky like him. He's a lot more fragile when it comes to emotions."

Krillin stared at him in disbelief, "That can't be true…" He sat down again and continued, "He was fine at the tournament! I was actually starting to think he was too much like his dad!" He remained seated, just in case there was more to it and he really would have to sit down in order to take it.

"He's nothing like his father!" Piccolo's little outburst caused Dende and Krillin to look at him strangely.

Dende chuckled nervously and went back to explaining to Krillin after a hesitant moment. "Gohan is very good at masking it. While he is a horrible liar, much like his father…" A frustrated grunt from Piccolo caused Dende to pause, "But his emotions are another story. He sometimes isn't what he appears."

……………………………

Yamcha let his head rest against the tree trunk and slowly started to relax. He swung his legs onto a stump in front of him and squirmed around until he was in a comfortable position. From there he gained some much needed rest, he had been around the world in search for the dragonballs after all, it takes a lot out of you!

Puar floated happily around his head, but suddenly jolted off in a sprinted run in the air when seeing a fast little chibi running after her, trying to grab her cat-like tail. The child was the giddy little Marron; she hadn't been able to move her legs around much on the trip so she was quite hyperactive.

Being the impatient teenager she is, Videl was pacing back and forth in an attempt to keep herself occupied. A scowl was on her face; sometimes it changed to a light smile. Her mind probably started to wander to Gohan or something when that happened; we all know he puts a smile on her face.

Eighteen was watching the teenager pace. Her eyes followed every step she took, every expression her face seemed to produce. And to say the least the android was amused. She knew that, no matter what Videl or Gohan said, they were in love with each other, so she could tell what the teenager was thinking.

Chichi had gone on her own to plan the wedding because Bulma was busy with other things. She swung her head from side to side slowly as she hummed to herself. Her hand moved rapidly across a piece of clear white paper sitting in front of her as she jotted down her ideas on the theme, cake and everything else she wanted at her son's wedding.

And finally Bulma! Her hands moved over the helicopter, inspecting it. She let out a sniffle once realizing _It's unfixable!_ Her mind seemed to scream those two words. Her arms flew into the air in frustration and she let go the wrench that was once in her hands. It flew for a bit until a loud 'bang' was heard. She swung around to see Yamcha had fallen on the ground and was now clutching his head, fighting back tears.

"Bulma!" He winced slightly before pushing himself onto his butt and stared up at her. "What was that for?"

Bulma giggled for a bit before she started to laugh hysterically. The laugh was a loud and cheerful one, totally out of character for the way Bulma was currently feeling, she couldn't fix her helicopter after all.

"Bulma?" Yamcha raised an eyebrow when saying this.

"Bulma, sweetie, are you okay?" Chichi came up to the hysterically laughing woman and started patting her on the back.

"She flipped her lid…" Yamcha stated disbelievingly to the group.

The laugher coming from the blue-haired woman stopped and she stared at Yamcha, a flicker of anger could be seen in her eyes. That little spark of emotion suddenly erupted into a scary, life-threatening flame. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?"

A nervous laugh left Yamcha's lips as he scurried backwards along the ground in order to get away from the raging harpy. "Nothing Bulma! Nothing at all!"

……………………………

A cold harsh breeze swept through the barren wasteland. Dirt rose from the ground and followed behind it, giving it a dusty look. Like a wave, it came crashing down on an unsuspecting figure. Dark black spikes shot out in all directions on this figure. He was clad in an orange and blue gi, a gi torn in an unaccountable amount of places. Black lashes lifted slowly to reveal two dark onyx eyes, eyes that widened like they had just realized something.

He was sent into a coughing fit once the dust reached his lungs. Pushing himself to his feet, he began to thump his chest to get it out. Only a few seconds passed before he was finally able to relax. His first action was to raise a dirty hand to his brow and rub it slowly, like he was trying to process some information.

"What happened?" He finally asked himself. His eyes gazed around the area looking for someone, "And where's Gohan?" Silence was all that followed his words.

He dusted himself off before searching the area with his eyes again.

Nothing.

"I wonder where he is?"

He slowly started to stretch out his sensors to see if he could detect anything. For a few miles he couldn't get a lock on anything. Then he started to be flocked with ki levels of animals before he was able to reach a town. Instantly a wave of evil came at him and he shivered slightly. Two power levels followed this negative energy.

The first one was tiny, not a very strong being at all, although the magic flowing off him was incredible. "Babidi." he stated plainly to the wind in a cold deep voice. Goku still hadn't forgiven the little wizard for corrupting his son, even through Goku new it was mainly his own fault Babidi was even able to find anything in him.

But moving on. The second power level was humongous! Higher than anything Goku had ever felt before. Something was familiar about it. He remembered a power level just like this one appearing out of thin air and then disappearing completely only an hour later, along with Vegeta. And then it suddenly appeared again! And that's all Goku remembered… that must have been the point when he had fainted from exhaustion, or been knocked out, he couldn't remember which. "And that must me Buu!"

A thought filled his mind that he couldn't get his head around, the question was, is it a good thing or bad? _Why isn't Gohan with them?_

The reason Gohan may not be with them is highly debatable…He might not be with them because he switched sides and is now at the lookout or something, "But then why would he have left me here?" Goku asked himself out loud, shooting down his favourite possibility.

"And the other possibility…" Goku gulped just thinking about it, "He's dead…"

New determination took over Goku's face and he stood straight, hands clasped together. "Gohan is stronger than that!" And that was that, Goku wouldn't believe Gohan could possibly be dead because his son always seem to hold his own. Gohan had never died before and he wasn't starting now!

And with that one happy thought, Goku stretched out his ki sensors past Babidi and Buu, searching for any others. For a while more all Goku hit were towns flocked with people, towns Majin Buu had yet to hit. Large amounts of ki were emitting from a few cities, probably the energy floating around as an aftershock of that monster Buu's attacks on them. It was sick how those two passed the time, killing innocent people.

A lump appeared in the earth-grown saiyan's throat as he held back the anger he felt towards the wizard and his pet. Goku could have saved those people if Gohan hadn't held him up! But he couldn't blame this all on Gohan… his son's mind was incredibly messed up at the moment and perhaps even very fragile._ I just hope I can find him in time to tell him I'm sorry…_

Guilt swelled up inside him. He felt that he let his son down. The last few hours had been completely crazy around here, what with Gohan turning on them and Vegeta dying in one huge burst of power.

"What was that about anyway?" Goku questioned the wind as it blew mockingly passed him. A large gust of wind hit him and he shivered slightly under the cold breeze.

His legs suddenly felt like jelly under him, causing him to fall backwards and land on his butt. "Guess I need a bit of a rest before I go anywhere…" Goku found that he talking to himself a lot for some reason, they just came out while others stayed in his mind. It was quite weird, but Goku couldn't help it. He had more important things on his mind right now.

Goku's eyes closed and he took in a huge breath. In his relaxed state, he began searching for Gohan's ki again from where he had left off. The next thing he hit was a group of people on some island on the other side of the world. Only three ki's were stronger than the rest on earth. Studying them further he noticed that the three strong ones were Yamcha, Master Roshi and Videl. One of the other figures on the island held a weird nothingness to them with no power level being attached to it, probably Eighteen. Two of the tiniest energies Goku had ever felt were among them. Puar and Oolong! The last two he was able to sense were Bulma and Chichi. It was easy to detect Chichi. A connection was felt between them that always made him feel all fuzzy inside with happiness. A smile stretched across his face before it turned back into a serious frown. And Bulma wasn't too hard herself. A strong and angry vibration of energy was coming off her and the power level she contained went up a notch. Goku cringed when he realized she was probably angry with someone.

Ignoring them, but relieved they were still alive, Goku stretched his sensors out yet again. More empty and full towns were hit before he was able to lock onto five powerful warriors; three were unconscious. Piccolo and Krillin seemed to be up and about while Trunks, Goten and no doubt the Supreme Kai seemed to be relaxed and out of it. All were at the lookout. It felt like Piccolo and Krillin were talking to Dende while Mr. Popo's ki moved around the boys and the Kai.

Having completely searched the entire earth and having found no Gohan, Goku decided the lookout would be the best place to go. He let a smile slip onto his face as he raised his fingers to his forehead, "Apart from Gohan and Vegeta…" Goku started saying, talking to himself again and trying to make it all seem positive, "Everybody seems to be ok!"

In a small spark of light Goku was gone from the area, leaving it completely empty. The closest living thing around was only a few miles away though. Someone Goku had missed. Someone knocked out. Someone who had an incredibly low ki in his current state, undetectable! And that person was Gohan…

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted on the 19 April 2005 – 4095 words

And so finally another chapter is finished. Hope you liked it! The first one out of the whole Dragonball Hunt thing! There was a small scene with them in here but it was more of a filler part really than anything else. Still no Gohan sorry… He should be back in chapter 14 or 15, depending on how my story goes.

I have the weirdest idea planned for this story! It will go into subjects from the Super 17 saga like that area in HFIL where they all piled out and came to earth, just trying to explain that part. When I saw GT I though it was pretty messed up, we all know what HFIL looks like don't we!

I am also planning to have Gohan walk away from this all with a scar on his face. You can tell me if you like that idea or not and I'll see if I can rethink it. But that's only if you don't like it.

I just have one question to ask.

Does anyone read what I write down here?


	13. Brief Explanation

Chapter Thirteen – Brief Explanation

(Or Majin Wardrobe/Back in Action/Accidental Wish/Found/Wait Shenron! – These are all the titles I had to go through before I found the right one)

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: Like every one else on the Internet who writes fanfics… I DON'T OWN DRAGONBALL Z!

Review Replies

**Dragonmaster**: Thanks to your complaint about no Gohan, I decided to have a short scene with him in it at the end of this chapter. It also features Babidi and Buu. It was originally going to be the opening part of Chapter fourteen but I decided to just put it here… It's the best I can do at the moment since he was unconscious for the other chapters PLUS I had to get the dragonballs over and done with!

**darksupersayian**: Glad to know my story is actually believable. Its great to know people think this story fits in with the timeline before Buu. That's what I'm aiming for! Thank you!

**kanny**: Your right… he probably is too cute for a scar on his face. Maybe I SHOULD put it somewhere else… Any suggestions?

**sabudabu**: I don't think I can make Gohan un-evil for a while yet… Probably not till the end of the story or maybe around the middle… I don't know. But at the moment we're really only at the start of the story… I mean Hercule hasn't even met Buu yet! So you'll have to wait awhile.

**Jessica Zukimori**: I have a fan! Gohan of course is -_by far_- my favourite character too! Anyway, Sorry about the long chapter wait… I've been held up a bit for it and never got around to it. Plus I had major writers block during this one. I didn't think it would take this long either!

……………………………

"FORGET IT!"

The power of Bulma's screech rattled the island slightly. She let the wrench in her hands drop to the ground, causing a harsh 'clang' to sound as it made contact with the hard dirt beneath her. She turned around and leaned back on the still banged up air vehicle. She let out a heavy sigh and slumped to the ground.

Chichi walked over to her and picked up the small green bag sitting on the aircraft. She opened the top of the bag and pulled out a dragonball. After almost losing them all, Bulma had smartly placed them all in the bag she usually carries around in her spare capsules, thus making it easy to track them all, as they'd always be in the same place. "I guess we should just call Shenron up here." Chichi suggested while walking a little away from Bulma, hoping to give the dragon some space when they summoned it.

"I suppose your right…" Bulma said as she pushed herself to her feet, "Where not going anywhere for a while anyway…" As she took a step forward, a loud cracking noise was heard. Bulma lifted her foot to see what had happened and gasped, "Oh my GOSH!"

There, lying in a pile of upturned dirt, lay the dragon radar. A fine, zigzagged line ran down the middle. A small electric spark came from it as Bulma reached out her hand for it. She winced at the sudden action, but continued to try and grab it. Once her fingers were wrapped tightly around it, she lifted it to her face and examined it for a second. Her lip quivered as she came to the realization that it was indeed broken.

She felt like crying then, but cancelled that emotion out quickly and settled for anger. She got back to her feet and threw it harshly to the ground, "Just Great!" She angrily stomped over to Chichi, "Add THAT to our list of misfortunes for the day!"

Yamcha made his way over to the two women, "Do you have another one Bulma?" You could defiantly hear the fear in his voice, she seemed pretty delicate at the moment, well actually… her emotions had been extremely fragile all day. ANYTHING could set her off.

Strangely, the woman didn't start yelling at him, must have worn herself out with how much harping she had done today already. Instead she let out a sigh, "Yes, back at Capsule Corp. I always keep a backup."

He smiled and started to pat her on the back, "Then what are you worried about? It's not like we need it now anyway!"

"I guess your right…" She didn't say anything else; she just calmly took the bag from Chichi. She pulled out its contents and laid them all on the ground.

Noticing they were about to summon the dragon, Videl smiled happily before trotting over to the group. She had never seen the dragon before, and was quite excited about witnessing it. From what everybody had already told her, it was quite amazing! The sky was supposed to go black and a giant dragon was said to appear. It still sounded illogical that something like this could happen! A dragon that was able to grant any two wishes within the creator's power sounded a bit farfetched. But here Videl was, about to view what only a handful of people had been lucky enough to see. It was just too exciting for words.

As she reached them, she noticed Bulma lower her hands to the small orange spheres sitting on the cold ground. A much-needed chant was yelled in an effort to summon the dragon.

"Arise Shenron! So you may grant me my wishes!

In a burst of light, a yellow coloured beam stretched high into the sky, looking as though it was attempting to reach the heavens. The light then expanded and started curling up. It stopped when it reached the very top. The light then took shape. Arms sprouted out in random places and scales rimmed the edges of the light. Before long, a head burst out of the top and a red glow shone where its eyes are sure to be. In a second, the yellow light was now green and scaled.

"YOU WHO HAVE GATHERED THE SEVEN DRAGONBALLS! I WILL GRANT YOU TWO WISHES THAT ARE WITHIN MY POWER!" The dragon's voice boomed, "WHAT IS YOUR FIRST WISH?"

Videl was utterly amazed at how positively loud the dragon's voice was. It left her completely speechless. It was a rather intimidating beast, but being the stubborn girl Videl most defiantly is, she didn't show it. The only sign of how she felt about it all, was that one slang word that left her mouth at that very moment, "Whoa…"

……………………………

A few minutes earlier, on the lookout…

A spark of light caught their eyes and they swung around to meet the cheerful smile of one happy-go-lucky Son Goku. A happy laugh left the saiyans lips and he walked calmly over to them. The laughing ceased and a wide smile appeared on his face. He raised a hand and waved at them.

"Hi guys!" Piccolo, Dende and Krillin just stared at him with wide eyes; surprised he was still alive. A hurtful yet kind of playful look attached to Goku's face when they didn't greet him. "What? No Hello?"

"Goku!" Krillin finally exclaimed, getting past his shock. He ran up to the taller man and embraced him in a brotherly hug, "Your alive?" He stopped for a moment, "Well kind of…" He added as an afterthought.

Goku looked down at him confused, "Why wouldn't I be?" His head cocked to the side as he waited for an answer.

Krillin looked up at him with a slight sign of tears, "I don't know…" He backed away from his friend and put on a goofy grin, "Sorry I ever doubted you, man!"

"Hey it's ok!" He shut his eyes happily and his grin widened.

"Want me to heal you Goku?" Dende asked him upon inspecting his body, "Gohan gave you quite a beating!"

Goku's eyes widened and he looked down at Dende, "Ye…ah… Su…re!" He stuttered out his reply, surprise still one of the emotions in him, "That'll… be great! Thanks a… million." He took a seat on the tiled floor and waited for the little namekian to heal him.

Dende lifted his hands into the air and pointed them at Goku. A soft yellow glow emitted from them and started shooting out in waves towards the full-blooded Saiyan present. Goku closed his eyes and relaxed, taking in the feeling of wounds closing up and blood disintegrating. A painful feeling shot through Goku before the procedure was finally over. He winced slightly before standing back up to his full height.

After a hesitant second, Goku asked the nagging question, "So you know about Gohan, eh?"

Dende nodded, "Afraid so, Goku." The little namekian backed away from him and returned to Piccolo's side.

Goku let out a sigh when hearing this, "Why didn't I see this coming?"

"I don't think anyone did, Goku…" Krillin said with a saddened smile directed towards his best friend, "I know I didn't!"

"So what about Vegeta?" Goku asked them, hoping to take the attention away from his Majin -and perhaps even dead- son, "When I was fighting Gohan I felt a huge raise of power before it just disappeared suddenly!" Goku's finger tapped his chin in thought sub-consciously, "Actually Buu went with him too!" As another thought gesture, Goku's hands folded in front of his chest and his eyes directed themselves to the ground, "And then the next time I checked this Buu character was back and better than new!"

Piccolo took a step towards the confused man and went to explain the situation. "Vegeta sacrificed himself to save the earth, Goku." A look of disbelief came over Goku's face as that was stated, "But Majin Buu managed to regenerate himself." Piccolo's hands levelled with his stomach and clenched together angrily as he said the next part, "The only way we're going to defeat this monster is if we destroy every last piece of him! Every last particle!"

"But I'm sure Goku can beat him!" Krillin exclaimed happily, unsurpassed faith in his friend showing in his voice. He nudged Goku in the arm and smiled at the taller man, "Right buddy?"

Goku turned to Krillin with a very serious expression on his face, this caused the former-monk's smile to falter, "Actually I don't think I can…" Krillin raised an eyebrow at these words, "When Vegeta and I were fighting Gohan, I had a chance to find out how strong Vegeta had become. I'm afraid to say I'm only slightly stronger than him now." A half smile appeared on the dead saiyan's face, "He must have really been pushing himself these last seven years!"

"Indeed…" Was the only response Goku received, this came from Piccolo of course.

Silence is the only thing that followed.

"So!" Goku said, hoping to break that burdensome quiet all four held, "Any guesses on what happened with Gohan?" His voice became quiet, realizing this was a very serious subject. Even though he really wanted to know what happened just a few short hours ago, he knew it wasn't a topic to be used as a silence breaker.

"You know what?" Krillin asked rhetorically, rubbing the area where his nose was supposed to be, "I was wondering the same thing!" Both his hands moved to his hips as he let his eyes drift to the sky above the lookout. "And what about nimbus? If Gohan was so evil, he wouldn't be able to ride it!"

Goku turned to Piccolo after hearing Krillin's words and sent him a questioning look, as though he expected the answers to come from him. The reason for that would probably be because the namek is currently fused with Kami. Surely the previous guardian would have some theories on the current situation, he had had that job for centuries after all.

Piccolo growled angrily when he noticed Goku's stare. His eyes shifted to eye the eyebrow Goku had risen only seconds before. The namek heaved a sigh, "The way I see it." He said finally, causing a small, satisfied smile to appear on Goku's face, "Nobody can be completely pure." And Goku's confused look returned.

"What do you mean Piccolo?" Krillin asked from beside Goku.

"What I mean is, Gohan's thoughts towards his father could be considered human to 'nimbus'. He didn't hate Goku. He just felt guilty."

"Maybe Babidi found a way to twist that Guilt into Hate?" Dende suggested to the group.

"Guilty?" Goku questioned the namek quietly, "He felt Guilty? For what?"

Krillin answered him; "He thought he killed you for a while there, man…" A small, saddened smile came to the small man's face, "But I'm positive we talked him out of it!" Krillin reached up to place a hand on Goku's shoulder, but had to settle for his elbow when he realized he was reaching above his own head. "Guess we should have paid more attention to him, but he seemed fine to me!"

"I still don't understand… Why would he think he killed me?"

Piccolo's mouth opened to explain, all the while hoping to give the earth-raised saiyan a good tongue-lashing for being so oblivious, but he was interrupted by a gasp from the little namekian god standing next to him. His mouth snapped shut and he looked down at Dende; the little Kami was staring at the sky. Curiously, Piccolo's eyes drifted to the sky also, the first thing he saw were dark clouds swirling around, tainting the sky into a pitch-black sort of colour. Piccolo's eyes widened as a sign of realization. Shenron had been called! All hopes of wishing everyone who are going to be killed by Buu are sha-

Goku interrupted his train of thought by his frightened yelling.

"It must be Bulma! What is she thinking?"

"Oh no! Oh no! This is not good!" Dende yelled frantically, his arms flailing in front of him, "If Bulma manages to make her wishes, we won't be able to heal the damage Majin Buu is sure to make for a whole year!"

Krillin yelped and nudged Goku, "You better get going Goku!"

Goku nodded his head and raised two fingers to his forehead. His eyes closed as he concentrated. After about half a minute of searching, Goku's eyes flew open, "There's two much disturbance on earth… I can't find –" He cut himself off as a small tinge of ki flickered in his mind, "Got her!" And with that Goku vanished from the lookout.

……………………………

Grabbing a fistful of bed sheets, Trunks rolled to the side, dragging the white, messy blankets with him. A loud 'thud' was heard as little Trunks managed to roll off the matris, and end up landing face first on the wooden surface below the bed he was sleeping on only a few minutes before. He let out a yelp before springing to his feet, only to trip over again once as he noticed his feet were tangled in the bed sheets.

He flopped onto his back and went to kick them off. Once done, he grabbed them and threw them back onto the bed. They landed on Goten, someone he hadn't noticed sleeping there before. Trunks hopped back onto the bed and crawled over to the peaceful sleeper. The lavender haired chibi gently nudged his best friend in the shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, but being the sound sleeper that he is, Goten continued to snore peacefully.

A frown appeared on Trunks' face and he made a reach for Goten's nose. Once he had squeezed it shut, he reached his other hand over to Goten's mouth. He shut that as well. In only a few seconds, Goten's eyes shot open wide and he pounced out of bed. He landed on the edge, now lying on his stomach. Goten quickly scrambled to his feet.

"I'm up Mommy!"

The little boy paused, taking in his surroundings. _A white room? _He asked himself, confusion easily noted on his face. Goten flopped backwards onto the blankets and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

"Where are we?"

At the sound of the voice, Goten rolled onto his stomach and stared at the other occupant on the bed. He pulled himself onto his knees and crawled over to Trunks. Once close enough, he plonked onto his butt next to him, hands between his knees.

"I don't know, Trunks…" He took in his surroundings again, but was interrupted as Trunks grabbed his arm and jumped to the ground. Goten landed on his back at the edge of the bed, then slipped onto his head while trying to pull out of his best friend's grasp.

"TRUNKS!"

Trunks laughed nervously and pulled Goten to his feet. He then let go of his arm and trotted over to the closed door. His head turned to face Goten, "Well we're not going to fight out by just sitting here!" He turned back to the door. With a light push it swung open, revealing a white landscape. Trunks took one step out of the room before turning around and motioning for his best friend, Goten to follow.

The younger of the two nodded. He walked calmly over to his friend standing outside and found himself again absorbing his surroundings. They were standing in an outdoor corridor. Tall, thick, white pillars held up the sliver of a ceiling above them. A few hedges were neatly placed around, perfectly watered by the looks of it. A lone water pot lay next to one. It was also noted that they were outside the building.

Goten felt himself being grabbed and yanked forward. He looked over to find Trunks' hands holding onto his long-sleeved gi. "What's wrong Tr-" Goten never managed to finish that sentence as a hand covered his mouth.

"Shut up Idiot!" Trunks yelled in a forced whisper, "Do you want him to hear us?"

Goten attempted to say 'Who to hear us?' but thanks to Trunks' hand, it came out muffled and almost impossible to understand. Goten's unheard question was answered as a large black figure, holding piles of blankets in his arms, walked past them without even seeing the two.

"Who's that?" Trunks whispered into Goten's ear, not taking his eyes off the black creature. Once the genie turned the corner and disappeared down the hall in the direction of their room, Trunks relaxed and weakened his hold on Goten's body.

Goten just shrugged before peeling Trunks' hand off his mouth. He examined the area once more, suddenly finding the urge to explore a strong one. With a happy-go-lucky smile, the boy started to hop up and down playfully. "Lets explore Trunks!" His gleeful smile didn't falter at all as he started to jog down the halls, not caring if Trunks was following or not.

Trunks' arms started to flail up and down frantically as he watched his best friend, Goten disappear down the hall. "Hey Goten! Wait up!" He yelled after his friend before speeding off after him, an exited jump in his step.

……………………………

With a quick, blinding flash, Goku was standing three feet from Bulma. Two fingers were raised to his head, a concentrated frown on his face. He dropped his hand to his side and replaced his expression with a surprised look. There he was, Shenron. Towering over him in all his wish-granting glory. Goku's eyes widened and he raised his hands to his head. He began to pull at the locks of black hair in frustration.

"Oh no! I'm too late!"

Bulma's lips parted to speak her first wish, but were immediately closed thanks to the surprise of hearing that voice. She swung around. A frightened gasp came out of her at the sight of who was standing there.

"GOKU?"

Goku ignored her, and went to contact the little god Dende. - _Dende! I'm too late! She has already summoned the dragon! What now? -_ He paused, waiting for the green namekian's answer.

_- Has she made any wishes yet Goku? -_

Goku stopped to think about it, when he couldn't recall her saying anything about it yet, he replied with, - _I don't know. But what difference does it make? –_

_- Goku… You can just tell the dragon to come back later if you want. If you only make one wish, the dragonballs are only dormant for four months, but are still spread all over the world. The same goes for if you don't make any wishes, except the dragonballs don't turn to stone at all! -_

_- Really? –_ Goku asked after Dende's explanation was over, _- You mean we could just collect them again afterwards? –_ Goku found himself fighting to jump for joy, _- We don't even have to wait a year? –_ That was a rhetorical question on Goku's part, he already new the answer after all.

Goku stopped his frustrated hair pulling, "Bulma! Have you wished for anything yet?" He asked the blue haired woman now facing him.

Bulma's period of shock passed, and was replaced with steaming hot anger, "Well I was about to!" She went to shove him away, but decided against it, that would be rude. She settled for continuing her rant, "Until YOU scared the shit out of me!"

Goku took a step back, a nervous smile on his face. He raised his hands in front of his head, "Gee Bulma!" He began, "I didn't mean to…"

Bulma's frown disappeared, and a sad look took its place on her face, "I know you didn't Goku…" She started to rub her brow as her eyes diverted from Goku to the ground, "I've just been really stressed out today."

"It's okay Bulma," He sympathized, "I've been stressed today too, what with Gohan being-"

Before Goku could finish, he was suddenly interrupted by the screeching of his wife, Chichi, "What happened to my baby Goku!" She growled, "What's going on?"

"Look Chi," He began, "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"No you don't Goku! I want to know right now!"

"I promise, I'll tell you when we get to the lookout."

"The Lookout? Why do we need to go to the lookout?" Bulma was the one to ask this.

"WHAT IS YOUR FIRST WISH?" The dragon's voice boomed, irritation clearly tainted his usually neutral tone. The earth's dragon of course isn't the most patient being in the world.

Forgetting the conversation, Bulma turned to the dragon and stated her wish with an ear splitting screech, "I wish for everyone who was killed today since the start of the world martial arts tournament back to life!"

Yamcha butted in and finished off her wish, using every ounce of power he had in his lungs to make himself heard, "Except for the really bad people!"

The dragon's eyes glowed a menacing red for a moment before he replied, "YOUR WISH BEEN GRANTED! WHAT IS YOUR SECOND WISH?"

Goku's eyes widened for the millionth time that day, "NO!" He quickly ran in front of Bulma and cupped his hands around his mouth, "That's okay Shenron! We don't need any more wishes today! You can go back to sleep now!"

"VERY WELL! FAREWELL!"

And with that, the dragonballs perched at Goku's feet started to lift into the air while the dragon disappeared back into them with a flash of light. Once the dragonballs reached up to where the dragons head used to be, they turned to stone, never to be used again for another six months, and shot out to new locations all around world.

The sky began to clear. Every dark cloud in the sky retreated out of the suns vision, only to be replaced by a fluffy white version. The colour returned to its normal blue and the sun shone brightly over the earth once again.

……………………………

Thanks to Bulma's wish, people of all shapes and sizes, young and old, found themselves lying on a soft blanket of grass outside a stadium, one large gaping hole visible in front of them. One second they're in a long line on a snake shaped narrow pathway, and then the next thing they new, they are sitting in the same spot they were sure they had died at. Only one question came to each of their minds.

_What's going on?_

……………………………

Pink eyelids flickered open, revealing small, deep, dark, coal-black pupils. The figure covered in dark pink skin reached his hands up to make sure what he was seeing was true. He could have sworn… Just a few seconds ago… Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind for just a second, Supreme Kai's bodyguard, Kibito sat up. The thoughts came back instantly just as he got to his yellow-booted feet. He was certain the demon king Dabura had vaporized him not too long ago, leaving absolutely no trace of him. So how was he standing there now? He was a godly figure; he should know these things. But he didn't, and that in itself was bothering him beyond belief.

"How is it possible?" Kibito asked himself unexpectedly, voicing his thoughts. His brow creased in utter frustration when his mind didn't produce the answers he was seeking.

As the time passed, a soft wind tossed his long, white flowing hair around slowly as he stood there. His clothes blew along with it. His mind completely gave up, and he was forced into matters of higher importance. He had to find out what had happened to the purple skinned young man he had vowed to protect thousands of years ago, the Supreme Kai.

So with a toss of the head, Kibito started to stretch out his ki in search for the higher god. After a few minutes he managed to spot him. He was somewhere above the earth. And from his ki, he was sleeping peacefully at that very moment. So thankfully he wasn't currently in danger.

A rare smile appeared on the pink skinned man's face. With a nod of his head to no one in particular, he fazed out of sight. With his special means of teleportation, he didn't have to raise his fingers to his head like Goku did. No, he just had to picture the place and he was there, no questions asked.

And at that moment, he found himself in a large white room. His eyes caught sight of the bed, and the figure sleeping on it. He noticed it was the Supreme Kai and calmly made his way over to the man.

"Sir?" He asked him, keeping the usual neutral sound in his voice.

As a reaction to the voice, Supreme Kai rolled over onto his side, no longer facing his bodyguard. He let a soft snoring sound come out of his mouth to signal he was still asleep.

Kibito sighed and reached out for the Supreme Kai's shoulder. With a light tug, he asked again, "Sir?"

This time a better reaction was received. With a small stretch, the Kai's eyes slowly opened until they were half way. He suddenly noticed who was standing there and his eyes shot wide open, "K…K…Kibito?" His voice came out as an unwanted stutter, "Your alive!"

Kibito nodded, let go of Supreme Kai's shoulder and stepped away from the bed.

Supreme Kai sat up and crawled over to the edge of the matris, he swung his legs over the edge and hoped off. His head turned towards his loyal servant and he asked, "How is this possible?" Like always, the highest kai in the universe kept a serious tone and a just as serious face.

The pink man replied truthfully, "I don't know, Sir."

Kibito suddenly realized how Supreme Kai looked, the god may have been healed, but his clothes were in taters. He shook his head and raised a hand, palm outward, towards the Supreme Kai. With a quick flick of the wrist, a new set of clothes appeared on him, the exact same colour, shape and size as the outfit he was wearing only seconds before.

"Thank you Kibito." Supreme Kai acknowledged with a smile.

……………………………

The sound of small rushed footsteps along a grassy plain reached a set of demi-saiyan ears. The boy's face twisted into a frown as he slowly tried to get up. After lifting himself up about 5 centimetres from the ground, the feeling in his knees vanished and he fell back down onto his face.

Gohan spit out a stray piece of blood that had found it's away into his mouth and tried to get up again. This time he was stopped by two scaly hands pushing him back down to the ground, "Stay still boy!" A voice hissed, leaving his upturned palms on Gohan's back. Gohan couldn't help but shiver. He weakly nodded before relaxing.

A slow flow of red coloured energy started to pour into Gohan's body. It caused Gohan to start glowing, as if he was powering up. Gohan shut his eyes tight as the energy started to sting though him in a rush. The healing process was stopped as a loud unearthly screech was heard behind him. His head tilted to the side to notice a small wrinkled wizard looking in the direction of a fat pink creature standing at the edge of a small lake. _Babidi and Buu?_ Gohan asked himself inwardly. He had never seen them before, Babidi was always somewhere on his ship and Buu had been released while he was fighting his father, so of course he hadn't seen them before.

Majin Buu bent his knees and jumped toward the middle of the lake, screaming happily at the top of his lungs, "WAHOO!"

As the large creature landed in the water, a gigantic wave was summoned. It rose 10 feet in the air, only to come crashing down and engulfing both Gohan and Babidi in its crystal clear liquid.

Gohan found himself coughing uncontrollably as the icy cold water splashed over his body and face, entering his nose, mouth and eyes in the process. Before he knew it, he was clutching at the grass, trying to stop the singing sensation that was burning through him. Finally it stopped and he was left motionlessly lying there, asleep once more.

A stress vein appeared on the soaked wizard's head and his hands curled up into fists at his sides. His eyes clenched tight in frustration and he let out a low-pitched growl. In one swift movement, Babidi eyes sprang open. He raised his hand and pointed it towards Buu angrily.

"BUU! YOU MORON! GET OVER HERE NOW!" He turned around to face Gohan again, his back to the pink monster, "Unless you want to go back into your ball again."

Buu's usually closed eyes widened in shock at hearing that and he quickly jumped over to Babidi's side.

A maniacal little smile came into view on Babidi's face at Buu's reaction. It was so much fun to have so much control over one's minions. _I guess that's the first lesson of having henchmen, always have something to hang over there heads._ Babidi snickered at that thought and let his eyes drift to the unmoving body of young, teenage Gohan.

With the raise of his hands, the healing process started all over again. He watched with a smile as the small red waves caused the saiyan Majin to flinch under the stinging effect. In the time of only a minute, Gohan's cuts and scars had all disappeared. Not a single drop of blood stained his body or black spandex.

Babidi's hands returned to his sides when it was all done. He waited impatiently for his young slave to rise. Yet again a minute passed and Babidi was reduced to nudging the boy lightly in the chest. When nothing happened, he turned to Buu.

"What are you just standing there for? Wake him up!"

The fat monster shifted his gaze from Gohan to his master and nodded hesitantly. He bent over and picked the Majin boy up. With a few ruff shakes, Gohan managed out a weak groan before he was set back on the ground.

Holding his head, Gohan forced his eyes open to see the two people standing around him. He gaze drifted over to the little wizard to the left of him, "Master Babidi?" He asked with a wince.

The wizard gave him a menacing smile, and raised his hands up again. With a flick of the wrists, Gohan found himself clothed differently. Instead of the ripped and torn black spandex that had once been an under garment of his 'Great Saiyaman' Costume, there was a baggy, white, sleeveless gi, and Majin labelled belt tied comfortably around his waist. A pair of black and yellow boots accompanied it, along with a pair of armguards, same colour as the boots.

Gohan quietly stood in his new clothes. A face void of all emotion stared down at the little wizard. Babidi smirked and made his way over to Buu. He pulled himself up and turned to the boy. Without a word, Gohan lifted into the air, awaiting whatever instructions his new master might very well have for them both.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted 14 May 2005 – 5227 words

Longest Chapter yet! (Not by much though)

Well there you go! Finally chapter 13 is out… Sorry for being almost a month late, but I never really found time for it. I did add tidbits of scenes every chance I got, so it's not like I neglected the story completely. Anyway, I'm still not certain about the title for this darn chapter. If anyone can think of a better name -or already like the one it has- please tell me!

At the moment I am slightly rethinking my plot, I'm also thinking of keeping Babidi in here a little longer than the series did. I know where this story is going thankfully, and am hoping for a smooth ride writing this from here (You wouldn't believe how hard it was writing this!).

I must also point out the poll for a scar is still open! So if you still have an opinion for that, please tell me.

Also, it's great to know people are reading what I write down here. I was starting to think I should just forget about this part and just simply post the chapter without any complications. But now I know it is worthwhile… Thanks!

I also know what Bulma said at the beginning to summon the dragon was probably wrong. But I've watched the show, I know the chant seems to varies a lot. But if anyone knows are more accurate one, please don't hesitate to tell me!

P.S. Thanks to **Fix this chapter**, I fixed this chapter! I accidentally wrote six months until you can you use the dragonballs again instead of four… Sorry!

Edited on the 15 May 2005


	14. Reactions

Chapter Fourteen – Reactions (And Food)

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I'm feeling kind of lazy right now… check another chapter.

Review Replies

**MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**: Babidi ordering Gohan to kill Videl? That is a very interesting idea! I'll probably have to start thinking were to put something like that in…

**LauraNeatO**: Salt water in the wounds… defiantly something to avoid. Darn Buu for doing that! (Although I was the one to write it!) Anyway… I never really thought about Vegeta coming back to life. I may have to juggle that idea around for future chapters, eh? Thanks for telling me that! Because Vegeta never became Majin in my story, I suppose he should have survived… Oh well we'll see.

**lady-kagome84**: Thanks to **Dragonmaster**, there is Gohan in this chapter. It made the chapter much longer too. (Even though that scene was only like 600-800 words or so. Glad to know it was satisfying enough! And about the scar… I suppose your saying I shouldn't put a scar anywhere? You know what? If I gave him a scar he may be too much like Mirai Gohan… I consider all opinions though! So (again) we'll see.

**darksupersaiyan**: It WOULD be an awesome idea for a plot twist. But I'm not going to ramble on about it again… Just read what I wrote for **LauraNeatO**. It's basically saying everything I wish to write here! And your welcome! I love to review stories! Plus your story has a rather interesting plot!

**Fix this chapter** (Sorry about calling you that but you never really posted a name): Thanks for reminding me about the whole four-month thing… I never really got why it was four months. It seemed kind of logical that since half a year is six months, that's how much one wish is worth! Anyone care to enlighten me on that? Like does someone have a reason why its only four months? Maybe I missed something in an episode…

**sabudabu**: I would never make Gohan evil… He's just too cool when he's naïve. (In my opinion)

……………………………

Loud thumps were heard down the hall as a figure clothed in blue and orange ran down the corridor. His black hair blew behind him in the shape of a flame and his face held a cheerful smile.

Another boy trailed behind him. His hands were balled into fists at his sides and her expression was a scowl. He was clothed in pale green and could be heard yelling at the boy in front of him from time to time, "Wait up, Goten!" He called.

Their destination? Who knows? Do they even know themselves?

For a while now, Goten and Trunks had been exploring the new place they were in. It seemed familiar to both kids, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it right now. So off they went, Trunks trying to catch up to his friend and Goten excitedly looking around the place.

Suddenly Goten stopped in his tracks in front of a large room. Trunks, not seeing Goten had stopped, bumped right into him and sent them both sailing to the ground. Trunks pulled himself off of Goten and stared angrily at the younger boy, "Give a little warning next time, will ya?" He snapped.

Goten didn't say anything, he didn't even get up; he just sent a quick glare towards his friend and turned back to the door. Trunks opened his mouth to yell something else, but his nose caught a wonderful smell. He couldn't help but let a little drool escape his mouth as his mind wondered off onto the variety of foods his nose had managed to pick up. Chicken, Potatoes, Peas, Carrots, Lamb, he could smell it all. Half saiyan or not, he couldn't turn down a good meal.

"You smell that Trunks?" Goten asked, snapping him out of his hunger-induced thoughts. He turned to see Goten staring at him; a wide smile was noted on his seven-year-old features.

Trunks gave him a wide, toothy grin and put his hands on the surface of the door, "Come on Goten!" He exclaimed, motioning for his friend to get up with his head, "I could go for some food right now!"

"Do you think we can Trunks?" Goten asked, an innocent, questioning look directed at his best friend.

Trunks rolled his eyes, ignoring him, and pushed the huge doors wide open. He was welcomed with everything he smelt, all lined up on a small table. Two chairs sat at each end, just waiting for Goten and Trunks to sit in them. The lavender haired boy ran over to the farthest chair and plonked onto it with enough force to possibly break it. It didn't even wobble.

Trunks eyed the plateau of edibles longingly, but decided to wait for his friend to take a seat. Goten hesitantly took the remaining chair, the one closest to the door. He relaxed into it and made a grab for a chicken leg, but the appearance of the black genie they were hiding from before stopped him.

"I see you boys are awake." Mr. Popo spoke calmly as he made his way over to the table where they were seated.

Goten stared at the black figure for a few seconds before deciding he could trust him. He twiddled his thumbs innocently and took his gaze off the food in front of him, "Where are we Mr…?" He trailed off, trying to remember whom this man was, he DID seem vaguely familiar.

"Mr. Popo." The black genie told the young boy after noticing they didn't know who he was. "And you, boys, are on the lookout."

"Lookout?" Goten questioned. Popo nodded as if to say 'yes'. The seven-year-old's smile brightened and widened, he had just remembered something, "That's where Mr. Piccolo lives!"

The genie nodded his head again as a way of saying the boy was correct and walked out the door located on Goten's side of the room.

"By, Mr. Popo!" Goten called happily at Popo's retreating back.

He turned back around to face the food, only to spot Trunks already inhaling it all. Goten's eyes widened in total horror as he watched his friend. With a terrified squeal, Goten quickly started to attack the table's contents himself, hoping to eat as much as possible before his friend could devour every last scrap of it.

And so... The soft crunching sounds and satisfied belches of two VERY happy saiyan boys continuously echoed through the room.

……………………………

Kibito and the Supreme Kai exited the huge hallway they had once been walking through and came to the open, outside air. They walked in silence, vision directed forwards in concentration. They soon caught sight of Dende, Piccolo and the earthman Krillin talking amongst themselves.

Actually, it was more like Dende and Piccolo were talking; Krillin was swinging back and forth on his heals in obvious boredom. You could tell he was listening to what the nameks had to say, but couldn't quite add his two cents. It was easily noted that he was the most clueless out of all three.

As the god and his bodyguard approached, they managed to catch a sentence the three exchanged. It was that one sentence that let both pink and purple understand what the three were talking about.

"I still don't understand…" This came from Dende, "How could Babidi possibly do something like this?"

Well… Shin was the only one who really got it; Kibito was dead before they even entered the ship after all. He didn't know what had happened to Gohan or anything like that.

Supreme Kai cleared his throat to signal they were there. Dende swung around quickly and bowed his head just as fast. Piccolo was calmer in his realization but also bowed. Krillin just stood there staring at the two. He let out a nervous chuckle and waved a hand at them in a welcoming gesture.

Dende raised his head to face the two and let a nervous smile slip onto his face, "Supreme Kai, Sir." He began, "I didn't realize you were awake." The shock of actually being able to talk to the supreme ruler of the universe caused his voice to come out shakily. He still managed to keep his formal tone though.

"That is quite all right." Shin reassured Dende, his usual unwavering smile stuck to his face. "And please, call me Shin." He added.

"Excuse me Mr. Shin…" The four turned to Krillin as he said this, waiting for him to speak again. After a few seconds of nervous head scratching, he continued, "How did this all happen? We weren't exactly there…" He paused for a second, "In fact, if it wasn't for Trunks and Goten we wouldn't even know at all!"

Supreme Kai let his smile slip for a second before he finally said, "You know of the Majin mind control? Correct?"

Piccolo and Krillin nodded. They had heard about it up on the cliff while they watched Yamu and Spopovitch hand over Gohan's energy. That was when Krillin made a wise crack about Piccolo not being as pure as the rest.

Remembering that, Piccolo sent the once-bald man a quick death before turning his attention back to their superior.

"Well…" Supreme Kai kept his monotone voice present, but his brow seemed to crease as a sign of frustration. "It all started when we entered the ship after you two were turned to stone…" He started to explain to them.

It only took around about six minutes for the Supreme Kai to tell them all about what had happened while they were dead, or 'garden statues' as Vegeta put it. He informed them of the events between the time Goku, Gohan and Vegeta entered the ship to when Buu was released. He explained with detail and his personal opinions, especially about when Gohan actually turned Majin. He had been certain Vegeta would be the one to be manipulated, but alas, he was incorrect.

(If you don't remember what happened before this story actually started you should really watch those episodes.)

Once Shin was finished, Krillin let out a sigh, smiling weakly, "That doesn't sound like Gohan at all..." He commented, combing a hand through his smooth, black hair.

Piccolo and Dende nodded in agreement.

But any more action was halted as a sharp spark of dark, manipulated energy touched their senses. Krillin couldn't seem to hold back a shiver when he realized who it was and Piccolo could only flinch. But when Dende felt the energy, he released the breath he didn't know he was holding, and whispered a particular name. His voice was so deprived of breath his hoarse plea wasn't even detected by Piccolo's sensitive ears.

"Gohan…?"

……………………………

"GOKU!" Bulma shrieked at her best friend's husband, "What do you think your doing? We had one more wish left!"

"Sorry Bulma," Goku went to apologize, "But we might need that wish for later!"

Chichi stomped up to him and yanked his eye towards her mouth, "What is going on here Goku?" She threw a lot of unnecessary volume into her voice, "And where is Gohan and Goten?" She let him go and he dropped to the ground like a heavy rock.

"And what about Vegeta and Trunks?" Bulma added with an angry growl.

Goku sat up and started to rub his head. He slowly got to his feet. Once he was standing, he took a step back from them and let a serious frown overcome his normally playful features.

Chichi was taken back by this action. She had expected her husband to reassure them in his usually nervous way. Just like Gohan, he had a strange fear of woman. But Goku didn't act that way this time. No, he became serious. Chichi's mother intuition was telling her something was VERY wrong. It had to be to make a warm soul like Goku so hard.

"Trunks and Goten are fine," He finally reassured them, causing Chichi to slightly smile, "But I'm afraid Gohan and Vegeta…" Chichi's smile dropped into a deep frown as Goku swallowed back the lump forming in his thought, "…Are dead."

At those words, Videl felt her knees failing her. She didn't fall or stumble however; she kept her body steady. She brought her arms to her chest and folded them there, to her that was always a sign of insecurity, but she didn't care anymore. The words _Gohan_ and _Dead_ used in the same sentence scared her greatly, and she couldn't help but start to cry. The tears came out as trickles of salty water, she was trying to restrain herself. She was supposed to be tough! As she slowly gained control of her sobbing, her cheeks were only left dampened. She bit down on her bottom lip in frustration.

"No… Gohan…" She whispered quietly, "You can't be dead…"_ I… love you. _She added in her mind. She didn't know why she had just thought that, but she couldn't bring herself to suddenly deny it like she always did. She could, however, say it felt… right.

When Bulma heard the news, she dropped to her knees and started to scream into her hands sadly, "No! No! No! Not my Vegeta!"

As for Chichi… She grabbed onto Goku like he was her only life-support and started sobbing loudly. She clutched desperately onto her husband's orange uniform as she tried to keep on her feet.

Goku watched as his wife broke down right in front of him. He cast a light, comforting smile her way and started rubbing her back in slow, calculated circles. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead and moved away from her. He grabbed onto her delicate hands and squeezed them comfortingly.

"It will be alright Chi… " He said quietly to her crying form. She moved her head to look at him, her cheeks strained with fresh tears. As their eyes met, he gave her a warm smile and started to speak again, "We can wish them back with the dragonballs."

He suddenly lost his comforting smile and turned his face to the sky. A dark, manipulated energy merged with a very familiar one touched his sensors, the same as what the people on the lookout had sensed, and he frowned deeply. Goku could feel a shiver run up his spine, but he suppressed it. He bit down on his bottom lip when he finally realized who it was. _Gohan_. His mind told him.

He sighed and cast his eyes to the ground in thought. How did this happen? Piccolo, Krillin and Dende had mentioned something about feeling guilty. But what was there to feel guilty about? What had he missed in these last seven years that had changed Gohan so much? Was it really such a good idea to leave them for the sake of the planet? It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Goku's mind suddenly turned to a conversation that both Gohan and him had shared during their battle. The two voices of Gohan and Goku rang through his mind mockingly.

……

"_Why?" Gohan asked suddenly, breaking the silence._

"_Why?" Goku repeated his son's question, a pure look of confusion on his face._

"_Why did you go? You had a chance to come back!"_

_Goku shook his head, "Didn't I explain this when I died?"_

"_What? That all threats to earth were because of you?" Gohan spat a slim piece of saliva at the ground below them, "Bullshit!"_

_Goku was taken aback by Gohan's language, Gohan had never talked like that to anyone, he must be really REALLY upset._

_Goku didn't really know what to say to that statement, he was positive he left because of all the evil he lured into the world, what was his son talking about? That wasn't 'bullshit'! He flinched at that word; it just became his most hated word in the English language to him. "H…How is th…that 'bullshit?" He managed to ask, even though his voice was a bit shaky._

"_Because you were wrong! What do you say about Majin Buu? Is he here because you're a saiyan? Or is he out for revenge?"_

_Goku shook his head in a 'no' gesture without saying a word._

"_Lets just face it Goku, you were wrong!" Goku? Why did Gohan have to call him Goku?_

_Goku felt his body go numb as he continued to stare at his son, he let out a sigh, "I thought what I was doing was right,"_

……

Goku suppressed a growl, but it still managed to make its way out of his lips. But he wasn't angry with Gohan for saying what he had, no, Goku was angry with himself. He should have never made that 'noble' decision seven years. He should have let them go to namek, wish him back there. But he had told them not to, staying willingly in Otherworld, unable to predict these tragic events. He didn't consider the feelings of Gohan or his wife. He didn't think for one second the night just before the Cell Games could have led to Goten. How could something so small affect the future so tragically? _I should have stayed…_

"Goku? What's wrong?" He heard his wife ask him; apparently she had heard his low-pitched growl.

Goku let his thoughts float away and he turned back to Chichi. "Nothings wrong." He told her, giving her hands another reassuring squeeze.

He could tell she didn't believe him, but to his surprise, she didn't push the issue.

Instead, she let out a little sigh and looked over at the rest of the group, "Shouldn't we be getting back to the lookout?" She asked him.

Goku nodded with a new, cheery smile fixated on his face, "Your right! We better get going!" All thoughts behind him, he turned to the rest of the group. He let go of one of Chichi's hands and raised the now free appendage into the air. "Come on guys!" He yelled to the group, "Time to go!"

When they turned to him, he noticed their sad expressions. The worst being -of course- Bulma. Videl's was just as equally miserable however. Anyone could tell she was trying the keep a level head, failing horrifically. But her best friend did just die; Goku understood her reaction. It was amazing to watch Videl, daughter of Hercule Satan, 'saviour of the world', to break down over the loss of a mere boy. The reason for her reaction suddenly clicked in his mind. To Goku, it was kind of cute; after all he wasn't really a romantic person. What else would he think of it as?

Goku wasn't exactly _completely_ blank on the romance subject; he could tell when someone liked another. It was pretty obvious. In fact, come to think of it, Gohan and Videl seem to be the only people who couldn't see it. Ironic.

The gang had continuously teased Gohan about Videl at the tournament; unaware they were right on the money the whole time. It seems all Gohan's yelling of "_IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!_" was just a stage of denial.

Goku fought to suppress a giggle, noticing they did make a rather cute couple.

Suddenly, a very Chichi-like thought entered his mind, causing him to grin widely. His memories of all events this day disappeared for a split, happy second.

_I can't wait for the wedding!_

By the time his thoughts were concluded into those six words, everyone had created a human chain across the small island. The only one not connected was Videl, who was currently staring at Gohan's father with a confused expression clearly noted on her features. She tugged absentmindedly at the sleeve of her blue t-shirt as she waited for them to explain what was going on.

"Aren't you coming, Videl?" She heard Bulma ask her from the tail of the line.

She quickly turned to the blue-haired woman and cast her a rather confused smile. When Bulma didn't answer, she flailed her arms comically around her body and latched onto Bulma's hand, "I do! I do!" She repeated as her position relaxed.

Bulma gave her a slight nod before turning her head to the front of the line where Gohan's father stood tall.

"Why _exactly_ are we doing this?" Videl asked the woman in front of her.

Without turning around, Bulma answered her, "You'll see, Videl."

Videl let out a snort of annoyance, these people were such a mystery to her, and they seemed to love keeping secrets from her. Hard to believe sweet, innocent, happy Gohan is actually one of them. But that boy was always a mystery to Videl.

"Please keep your hands and arms connected at all times!"

Videl heard Goku's comical voice say from the other end of the line. It was obvious he was trying to keep positive about the whole situation with Gohan and Vegeta. Videl suppressed a girlish giggle; Goku's humorous –and childish- antics could do that to anybody.

"Okay!" Goku yelled with one hand cupped around his mouth, the other holding onto Chichi, "Are we ready?"

He didn't waste anytime waiting for an answer; his fingers were already on his forehead in that same second. It only took a few seconds of concentration before Goku locked onto the lookout.

Without a second thought, they all disappeared.

……………………………

A happy, jumpy, squealing monster bounced excitedly down a deserted street, shooting a stray ki blast here and there. His purple, childish cape swung life-lessly behind him as he went, making him look like a child playing Superman.

Two figures followed behind him, side by side. One was a boy. He had a spiked head of black, silky hair, one bang hanging, unnoticed, from his otherwise non-existent fringe. He was clothed in the Majin uniform and his face wore a distant mask.

And the other figure was a small, scaly creature. To the onlookers, it looked like he was snickering as he watched his 'faithful' servant destroy everything in its path.

The three people, Babidi, Buu and Gohan, had been looking for a place to eat for the last hour. It seemed Buu is hungry, along with Gohan. What possessed Babidi to take control of a saiyan was beyond him, but he did it anyway, having to pay by wasting his time looking for a restaurant. Gohan didn't tell him this; he didn't wish to pester his master. Babidi could feel the need to eat radiating from his mind.

So the wizard had finally given up and agreed to find something to eat, hoping to get his minions to concentrate on the task at hand. His goal at the moment was to get back at those annoying little brats and that tall green man. The reason he loathed the children so much was because he had come so close to losing Gohan thanks to them, and Piccolo, well… the green _idiot_ had chopped him in half for goodness sake!

Babidi also wondered what had happened to Buu to make him have such a large appetite. If Babidi knew anything about his father, it was that his temper was as fragile as Babidi's. Something must have happened to him to make him like this. Maybe the Kai was wrong, maybe this wasn't the real form of Buu. But Babidi had no time to ponder over it now. He had to satisfy his servants before he went crazy.

"Buu smell something GOOOOOOOOOOD!" He heard his servant laugh up ahead.

Buu's non-existent nose shot up in the air and he took a large whiff of the wind. A wide smile appeared on its face and he started to dance around in circles, chanting, "Buu eat! Buu eat! Buu eat!" over and over again.

Gohan took a small sniff of the air himself, trying to find out exactly what Buu had smelt. A mixture of things met his senses, causing him to nod his head in satisfaction. Once realizing the smell was coming from his left, he turned, finding his eyes set on a small supermarket. Big, bold letters sat on the roof of the shop, it read 'GO-MART'.

The boy turned his body around fully and started to make his way over to the building, only to be stopped when Buu pushed passed him and bounced into the shop. Gohan stood still as the monster moved passed him, letting Buu go before him. He started walking again when his master, Babidi returned to his side. From what Gohan could pick up, it seemed the wizard was mumbling to himself about disgusting eating-habits and Buu's weight problems.

When they entered the shop, they saw Buu letting his closed eyes roam over the many types of food littering the shelves. A small dribble of saliva slipped down it's fat, pink chin as Buu's eyes met a shelve filled with donuts.

"DONUTS!" The monster screeched. A smile stretched across it's face and Buu ran towards the donut shelf. Gohan followed him silently while Babidi stayed glued to his spot, his scaly arms crossed over his chest in irritation.

"Imbecile," The wizard mumbled under his breath as he watched the monster inhale the food laid out in front of him.

Once Gohan reached the donut rack, Buu had moved on, and only one appeared to be left. Gohan growled under his breath as he made a reach for it, only to be met with a soft, creamy white hand stopping his arm. He turned his head to figure out who had delayed his movements. A red headed girl met his gaze. She gave him a polite smile.

"How are you planning on paying for-" She tilted her head to get a better look at Majin Buu, now devouring the countless boxes of cakes on their own set of shelves, "-Your Friend?" She finished, a disgusted look now present on her features.

Gohan opened his mouth to answer her, but Babidi's screeching of, "BUU HURRY UP!" stopped him. He slipped out of the girl's grip, quickly grabbing the donut as he did and turned to his master. He spotted Babidi stomping over to him.

The wizard stopped at Gohan's side and yelled at Buu again, "BUU! YOU SIMPLE-MINDED FOOL! We have more important things to do than gorge ourselves with junk food!" He paused, but after a second he added as an afterthought, "You are already obese!"

Gohan turned his head slightly to spot Buu, eating like no saiyan had before. Much worse than his 'father' or Vegeta ever were. Gohan spat in disgust towards the ground as he thought of his father, the man who had sent him into a world of depression because he thought he had killed him. But his mind thought differently, he was now thinking it was all Goku's fault. He had killed himself. He had ruined his and his mother's life. Goten had to live without a father thanks to that man! And Gohan used to actually think it was his own entire fault. How naïve he used to be.

Gohan crushed the donut in his hand angrily, suddenly regretting it as the cream that once filled the donut sprayed all over his pale hand. He shook the appendage angrily as he tried to shake it all off, but to no avail.

"BUU!" Babidi yelled again.

Buu gave him a quick glance and answered with, "NO! Buu hungry!"

"What?" Babidi growled and clenched his fists tightly, "You can't say 'no' to me!" That was the second time that day he had said 'no' to him. How can the minion say no to the master? It just wasn't done. _Buu will be the death of me!_ He yelled in his mind.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he took a quick glance at the boy at his side. Gohan had an angry expression on his face, hand dripping with cream, body stiffened. Babidi wanted to ask the boy to fetch Buu for him, but decided against it. The teenager was obviously having an inner battle, one that just might help make it easier to keep the young saiyan at his mercy. It was starting to get a little straining.

Curiously, Babidi took a quick peak into his minion's mind, hoping to find out what the boy was thinking. He was suddenly overcome with a harsh yell, obviously belonging to Gohan.

_It was never your fault! YOU FOOL! It was always HIM! ALWAYS HIM!_

Babidi cut off the link at that, he had already heard enough.

So Babidi didn't say anything after that. He just stood there, hands folded behind his back. Watching as Buu continued to eat, hoping the monster would be done soon so they could get their plan up and running. First they would get revenge on those two brats and that namekian, then they would destroy this petty planet and go onto greater things. He let out a chuckle, enjoying the sound of that plan.

_Yes, it's all so simple,_ He thought.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted 25 May 2005 – 4484 words

Yes! I managed an update on my birthday! And sorry that this chapter was a bit short…

Heh… Chapter Fourteen! Sorry the story is going a little slowly at the moment but it's kind of necessary. A lot of talks in chapters 12-14 eh? Anyway I'm sure to get you back into the action when Goku arrives to stop Buu from getting to capsule corp.

Still debating wether I should have him fight Gohan again or maybe Buu this time… What do you think?

Also I must add this… (I put it in capital letters in case people decided to miss reading this part and just get to the next chapter (When I post it))

THE FLASHBACK IN CHAPTER THREE willpower HAS BEEN TOTALLY REWRITTEN! IT'S BIGGER _AND_ BETTER!

That reminds me… I had a tiny flashback in this chapter. It's a scene from Chapter six so it's not anything you won't remember reading. There have been a few minor changes in writing style from the original so sorry if it sounded slightly off (I'm sure they're unnoticeable though!).

Also… If **fix this chapter** could give me their real name I could correct that. It doesn't sound right to continually call you **fix this chapter**, eh?

I started turning the writing for people's usernames to bold so they stand out.

One more thing to say! This chapter slightly strengthened the Gohan/Videl pairing in my opinion (Or the Videl side of it anyway)… Even though most of that part was done in Goku's POV… Heh. Sorry if you don't like that pairing, and think Videl is an… Ahem… Bitch… (Yeah people actually think like that… Not me!) But you'll just have to live with it! They're the key couple in this story. But I'm sure you saw that coming… If I ever wanted to write a sequel with all the GT sagas included… I'd have to have Pan! Besides… She's so cute at age 4 (That's at the end of DBZ)!

I also have to add that this fic will end in the same place as DBZ originally did… Ten years later! Uub is still debatable though… should I have him in the end or not? You guys decide. Also after everything that's going to happen in this fic, I'm sure Goku will NOT leave his family again.

Kami! Another quick thing I have to say. This chapter had a minor Goku/Chichi scene in it. I don't know why I wrote it… It just seemed kind of cute at the time.

And yet another note… I'm just asking… But does anyone want me to perhaps post a few other Majin Gohan stories I have come across while writing this story. Just for anyone who likes the idea of a Majin Gohan. I may have only come across two or three, but they're each written in a very unique way! Anyone interested?

I'm surprised at how much I have to say…


	15. Spiking a Worldwide Interest

Chapter Fifteen – Spiking a Worldwide Interest

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: I don't own the show. Easy as that!

Review Replies

**darksupersaiyan**: Does Babidi have a plan to bring out Kid Buu? I would answer that… but then you would know what to expect! It does make sense that he would try something like that doesn't it?

**Shadow Dreamer 27**: For your first question, Gohan has a lot on his mind right now so if he did eventually lead Babidi to the lookout it wouldn't be anytime soon. And your second question… Yes Goku will have to distract them and yes Buu will try to kill Babidi. I am hoping to keep Babidi in the story a bit longer than the series so it will be a surprise how he gets back on his feet.

**Lady Tsuru**: I really have no choice about the Videl thing, but people are entitled to their own opinions. Besides, if you watch the series, Videl takes a huge personality flip with the Buu saga starts. So she is actually nothing like she was in high school! I always found that amazing every time I watched the show. Anyway, its good to know your still going to read the story even though it's a Gohan/Videl eventual romance.

**Satan'stoasterstrudel**: A feat in itself you say? Glad to know my story is that effective! So people like reading long chapters? Good to know! The reason for the fact my chapters are so long is probably because there is a lot of action and explanations to get through. Plus the fact that I like for readers to know what characters like Goten and Trunks are doing so it doesn't seem weird if say Chichi and Bulma come barging into the eating area and your thinking, "How the heck did they get there?"

**Tasha**: Yep! The Majin Gohan stories are now posted at the bottom. I'm going to post at least one a chapter, but there are only 2 or 3 so it won't be too long before I will be unable to fill that area. Anyway… I have noticed my writing style has improved quite a bit since the start of this story (I am planning on rewriting that first chapter at the moment) so thanks for noticing. And as for your last question, I think I was in primary… heh.

……………………………

Buu's long, pink tongue lapped the last specks of chocolate from his face as he flew through the open air.

Yes, the group of Babidi, Buu and Gohan had moved on from the supermarket and were now travelling through the breezy air right above a large ocean. Despite the fact that people were dying left and right, the sun had decided to keep the day bright and happy. But Buu didn't need the weather to make him happy, the screams and cries of suffering victims was all he needed in order to smile.

Babidi felt the same way; destruction brought an evil grin to his face also. His minions were such ruthless and bloodthirsty warriors, killing whoever stood in their way. Gohan hadn't been as much help as the big pink lummox, but a good tongue-lashing was all it took to put the boy back in his place.

Gohan didn't feel the same as the people –if you can call them people- he was travelling with. Despite the fact that his mind and emotions had been corrupted, he still didn't take pleasure in watching people die at his feet. Quite frankly, it sickened him to no end. His caring heart was still there, but that didn't mean he would stop.

But back to the point, now that his lackeys had been feed, the next step of Babidi's plan could be put into action. And right now he needed to find the only threats this planet seemed to have. The namekian, and those two brats.

There was no place to hide on this pathetic planet, someone was bound to have seen them somewhere. All he needed to do was draw them out, threaten the rest of earth's population that they would continue destroying the planet until they were found. From surveying this planet for the last few hundred years, he had found them to be greedy and selfish, or more than any other race at least. So they would tell him were his targets were.

"What to say… What to say…" He repeated over and over again as he paced through the open air. A scaly hand was raised to his chin in thought. His heals clicked together as he floated.

Gohan's eyes followed his master's movements. He waited patiently for any command the little wizard might give him. His unruly hair blew freely through the wind as he waited. His eyes kept an unwavering focus.

Buu, on the other hand, grew impatient. He started to bounce through the air in annoyance, his wide purple cape flowing behind him as he did. He started to giggle childishly; executing back flips and somersaults while he did.

A red, pulsing vein appeared on Babidi's head, as he grew annoyed at his minion's stupid behaviour. Buu's actions soon became unbearably distracting as he went on. With a loud growl, he swung around to face his fattest lackey.

"Buu!" He screeched, "What are you doing?"

Buu just ignored him and continued his tricks. After a while, the monster stopped, and turned to his 'master'. With a loud, ear-piecing screech, he said, "Buu hungry!"

Babidi's eyes widened in shock, "What?"

"Buu hungry!" The monster repeated, eyeing the town below him, "Need people candy!"

"People candy?" Babidi questioned, trying to figure out what he meant. "What's that?"

Buu stayed silent. He swung around to face the city fully and lowered his hands until they were facing a particular street in the middle of the town. His already closed eyes tightened as he concentrated. Almost instantly, a little boy floated into view. A happy smile stretched across his podgy face as he spotted the child. Babidi and Gohan stared in aware, wondering what would happen next.

Buu let out a happy screech and brought his antenna in front of his face. It started to glow a bright shade of pink before shooting towards the child in a stream of light. The sky around them turned dark as the beam whipped through the open air, the sound of paper ripping followed its movements.

The boy let out a scared cry as tears leaked down his cheeks. When the beam hit him, a dark cloud of smoke surrounded him. Once it cleared, he was instantly replaced by a piece of candy. But not just any piece of candy, the toughest candy in existence. The living, breathing, little boy had been turned into a… a…

…Jawbreaker.

Yes, this attack of Buu's seemed to turn people into a delicious treat. And if the wizard could recall, this same attack was used on the demon king, Dabura, his star lackey at the time. But now he had Buu… and Gohan, so that dim-witted king was no use to him anymore. But he was dead anyway, and would never come to burden his again.

"Very Good Buu!" Babidi clasped his hands together as he watched the piece of people candy float towards them.

Once it was only three feet away, Buu swiped it right out of the sky and instantly stuffed it down his throat. He took a large gulp of air before swallowing his newly acquired food and letting it slip down his throat.

A satisfied grin appeared on his face, and he started to bounce around once more. He started to chant wildly, "More! More!"

Babidi chuckled, suddenly finding the perfect way to terrorise earth's population. "Oh you'll get more!" He assured the creature, causing him to stop bouncing.

The little wizard now knew what to say, and it wouldn't be long before he could begin. So once Majin Buu stopped his excited movements, he floated into the middle of Gohan and him, Gohan on his left, Buu on his right, and turned away from them.

Only a short second of concentrating was all it took to enter the mind's eye of every citizen on earth. With a gleeful smirk, he began his speech…

"_People of the earth!_"

……………………………

So From the Tournament, the recently resurrected had returned to their homes in the many cities consisting in the Dragonball world. They had forgotten about the previous events. About a ruthless boy, killing with a flick of the wrist. The long line on 'snake way'. The feeling of being lighter than air while your feet don't even touch the ground, like spirits. And finally, coming back to life.

So to them it was a dream best forgotten, and they were enjoying life again. But all that came to a halt as a menacing voice reached the world's ears.

_- People of the earth! -_

People around the world dropped whatever they were previously doing and scanned the area suspiciously, as though trying to find the person, or thing, that was contacting them. But once all found nothing but what was expected, that same question from earlier that day came to mind.

_What's going on?_

……………………………

As a quick, yellow flash appeared, the yelling of a three-year-old little girl could be heard.

"DADDY!"

Krillin smiled when he spotted little Marron, his darling daughter, scurry over to him, that big bright smile of hers gracing the features of her delicate little face. He bended down and opened his arms wide for the young girl to jump into them. And she did just that.

A tall blond woman followed the child. As she approached her husband, she brought her hand up to her face and brushed a few stray stands of blond hair out of her eyes. She gave him a half smile as she watched her daughter play with her father's hair. Even to Android Eighteen, a once heartless machine, it was cute.

As Krillin, Eighteen and Marron had their little family reunion, the eyes of two over protective mothers scanned the lookout, looking for Goten and Trunks.

"Where are they Goku?" Chichi growled as she spotted her deceased husband.

Goku shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Chichi." As his wife cast him a glare, he started to panic, "But they're here! Don't worry!"

Mr. Popo, the black genie living on the lookout, made his way out of the building, still holding the blankets that had once resided on the boys' bed. He made his way over to the two stressing woman.

"The boys are inside." He gestured over to the temple he had just come out of. "I believe they are eating right now."

It didn't take long for both Chichi and Bulma to sprint over to the building where their boys were.

Goku watched them go with a halfhearted smile, and rubbed his nose as he did. He suddenly felt a cold hand on his shoulder, and tilted his head slightly to see whom it was. _Piccolo_. As Piccolo's hand moved away, he turned fully around.

"Goku." Piccolo's green head turned to the side of the lookout where the open clouds lay, "Did you feel that power?"

A look of confusion crossed Goku's face, but it quickly disappeared when he remembered what he had felt while still down on earth. It was Gohan, and he was much worse than before. It was sad, that Gohan was lost. Or if he wasn't completely gone, it would take a lot of work to get him back on their side. So Goku reluctantly nodded, and the namekian, Gohan's former mentor, continued.

"You do realize," Piccolo swallowed, not wanting to believe what he was about to say, "He may be lost." Oh, Goku knew.

After a long, uneasy pause, Goku nodded. But like Piccolo, he didn't want to believe it.

Piccolo didn't have a chance to say anything else, as Krillin came up behind Goku, little Marron in his arms. "So Goku," He began, giving Marron a tiny bounce, "What's the plan?" At Goku's vacant expression, he started to get a little panicked, "There is a plan, right man?"

After a second of processing Piccolo's information, and then finally Krillin's, he turned to the once-bald man, but he took on an angry expression, "Darn it! If Gohan or Vegeta were here, we could have done a fusion!"

Krillin raised an eyebrow, "A Fusion?"

Goku nodded, "Not a permanent one, but a thirty minute one. A Metemoritian taught me the steps, back in Otherworld."

When Goku said that, Piccolo's mind flickered over to Nail, and even Kami. He had fused with them both once before. "Is this fusion anything like the namekian fusion Nail and I experienced."

"Not really." He turned back to Piccolo as he continued, "This fusion fuses the two warrior's personality, body structures, strength, speed and endurance together to make a totally different person!"

Piccolo's head nodded in understanding, he remembered his race's fusion. Each person would choose a body to keep and that would be it; the only thing to change would be the power level. He remembered that rush of energy he had gotten after that, it had been incredible. For a second, just one split second, he had felt invincible.

"Can't you just fuse with someone else?" Krillin asked.

Goku shook his head, "No, it doesn't work like that. It takes two people of an almost identical height and power level for it to work."

An invisible lightbulb appeared above Mr. Popo's head as he eyed the building behind him. "What about the boys, Goten and Trunks, could they do it?"

Goku's eyes lit up and he smashed a fist into his open palm. "That's right!" He exclaimed, "Goten and Trunks will work perfectly!" He let out a satisfied laugh, "Thank you Mr. Popo!"

The genie nodded and folded his arms smugly behind his back.

"Will you be able to teach them, Goku?" Krillin questioned.

Goku gave him a half nod, "For a little while," He turned to Piccolo and gave him a small grin, "Piccolo, would you teach them when I go?"

"Sure Goku," He replied, folding his arms over his chest, "But a lot of innocent lives will be lost in the process."

"Yeah, I know…" Goku rubbed the back of his neck in thought, "But I'm sure the dragonballs can clean up the mess afterwards!"

Suddenly, almost randomly, the croaky voice of Gohan's new master filled their ears. That commanding voice, it sent a shiver down Goku's spine.

_- People of the earth! -_

Goku's eyes clamped shut as the voice affected the ridges of his mind. And what he saw shocked him. Through his minds eye, he could see Babidi, floating in between two figures. One of them was Gohan, his son, looking positively miserable. The other was Buu, but Gohan's father paid no mind to him. Goku's eyes shot open, not wanting to see his son anymore.

A scream filled his ears, followed by the crashing of plates. Instantly, he knew who it was. It was Chichi. Perhaps she had seen Gohan too. Another scream, and finally a yell…

"My baby!"

Yep, she saw him.

……………………………

The mothers of two half-saiyan boys barged into the room. This caused Goten to fall off his chair and Trunks to choke on the chicken he had previously been stuffing into his mouth. Both women immediately engaged their children in bone-crushing hugs.

Goten half smiled, all the while trying to wriggle out of Chichi's grip.

Chich took a whiff of her son, and instantly loosened her hold on him. She watched as her son let out a much-needed breath of air before talking to him, "Goten! When was the last time you had a bath?"

The little boy cast her a confused expression, wondering why she needed that information. "I don't know." He finally answered.

"Well you're going to have one right now, mister!"

Goten lowered his head to look at his feet, shuffling them as he did. "Yes Mummy."

Chichi gave him a motherly smile, pleased that her son was so obedient.

Bulma wasn't having as much luck.

"Mum! I don't want a bath! I'm perfectly clean!" Trunks yelled, crossing his arms over his chest in a very Vegeta-like stance.

"No your not!" She screamed back, "Now go with Goten and have a _bath_!"

"But mum!" He pleaded, "I hate baths!"

"I don't care! You're having a bath! And that's final!"

Trunks snarled, "Fine!" He turned to Goten, who was already heading for the door, "But I won't like it." He mumbled under his breath.

As the boys headed out to have a bath, Chichi started to clean the table they had previously been eating at. As she piled up the dishes and headed over to the kitchen on the other side of the door, a voice she had never heard before echoed through her mind.

_- People of the earth! -_

She let out a surprised scream, dropping the dishes as she did. Her eyelids covered her eyes as she tried to block out the crashing sound. And another scream left her lips, for in the minds eye, she could see her baby, her Gohan. He looked absolutely emotionless, miserable; it sent Chichi's body into a wave of shivers.

Right there and then, she collapsed to her knees, sulking into her hands. As another sob raked her body, she turned to the ceiling, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"My baby!"

……………………………

One minute, the wide deep crater was empty, the next, a lone figure lay sleeping in the very centre of it.

His rugged, hoarse breaths caused his chest to rise and fall quite slowly. Small droplets of previously shed blood lay around him in a splattered fashion. His body position told you he was sleeping, but really he was wide-awake. You could tell by the fact that his glazed eyes were fully open.

As his senses managed to reach the evil trio travelling around the planet he could only exhale the breath he had unwillingly been holding. What had once been dead was now alive! Majin Buu was back on his feet again and stronger than ever.

"How…?" He gasped out, not wanting to believe this new discovery.

He wrapped his gloved fingers around the dirt beneath him and let out a menacing growl. The sacrifice… the noblest thing he had ever done in his whole life was all in utter vain. The pain of being ripped to shreds both mentally and physically as you were torn away from your loved ones… it had all been for naught!

"Well…" He commented aloud, thinking through what he was about to say, "I will _never_ do _that_ again…" He decided.

Placing his hands at his sides, He lifted himself into a sitting position. He flexed his muscles as he thought, wondering what to do, now that he was alive.

He could find out where his family were, but a quick scan confirmed they were all at the lookout. Bulma, Trunks… they were both there. The saiyan couldn't help but sigh in relief, they were okay, Buu hadn't gotten to them yet. Kakarot was also there, the stupid baka. He was sure Gohan would have been able to kill the clown easily, neglecting the fact that he was already dead.

What he had noticed during the fight before he had gone after Buu was that Gohan was surely holding back, maybe the boy wasn't totally under Babidi's control. But as Vegeta stretched out his sensors to find out where the boy resided on the earth, he found the teenager with Babidi. The strange thing was, he was surging with a more powerful manipulating energy, and a much higher power level.

It seemed Gohan was more on Babidi's side than ever. What he had also noticed while fighting against Gohan was that at times the boy managed to fight off the control, and then others, he was a lost cause. What could be causing him to just switch off and on like that? And what about now? To him, it felt like the boy didn't even want to disobey the lousy wizard anymore.

"Pffft!" He mumbled under his breath as his mind drifted over to what he was actually considering doing for a while in that ship.

Turn his soul over to Babidi? What had he been thinking? Watching Spopovitch as he easily beat up that Satan girl while at the previous tournament he couldn't even land a finger on her father. Obviously the girl was a lot stronger than he father and the man had been slacking off. His mind had been continually yelling at him that '_An upgrade like that would actually make me stronger than that blasted Kakarot_'.

Yeah, he now saw the light. That would have been the stupidest thing he would ever have done. It wasn't prideful for a saiyan to take orders from anyone except their king! And Frieza for a period of time, knowing the consequences if you disobeyed… But that stupid wizard? Never! What his mind had also been telling him while on that mountain was '_Is it really slavery if I get exactly what I want?_' Apparently it still was.

But it didn't matter now. Babidi had chosen Kakarot's brat, Gohan over him anyway. The question was, why? He had been the one throwing insults at the boy about how weak he was, and that demon, Dabura had actually been distracted by him for second. He had thought he was noticing the evil potential within him. Guess not…

It was amazing; he had set it all up, toying with his worthless opponent in the first round, showing he was ruthless. Throwing insults at his own team, something that would perhaps cause them to loose, showing that he didn't care. And finally the ego, he knew it had taken up to six years for him to catch up to the power level an eleven year old held, he knew Gohan and him were almost evenly matched. Besides… even though Dabura wasn't the main villain, it was still pretty obvious he was stronger than Cell.

Oh well, he might as well drop the subject, what's done is done. What he needed to do right now was get back to his blasted wife, and the child. So that's what he decided to do, get back to his 'family' and the rest of them. Perhaps Kakarot had a plan to get rid of Babidi and Buu, saving his spawn at the same time. Probably not, but surely the bastard had learned a few new moves while up in 'warrior heaven'.

So he lifted himself back onto his feet and dusted the dirt and blood on his blue uniform off. With another quick stretch of his limbs he kicked off the ground and was left suspended in mid-air.

He let a surge of white, flowing energy surround him. Once he powered to the brink of the level lower than super saiyan, he used his ki to propel himself into the air but he came to a halt high above the land he once resided on when a strange, croaky voice met his ears.

_- People of the earth! -_

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted 16 June 2005 - 3484 words

I know that chapter was short, but it was really only focused on the reactions of Babidi's voice. The actual broadcast will be in the next chapter, and that might be short too. Is that considered a cliffhanger I wonder… maybe? Oh well, I'm not one to write cliffhangers anyway. Anyway, despite the fact that that was increadibly uneventful, I hope it quenched your thirsts!

Next, I'll be updating my brand new story, '_A Date With Disaster_'! So I'm sure Kim Possible fans can't wait for that! I've already got six reviews on that story! Any Dragonball Z readers read it yet?

Another Majin Gohan story 

Yes… A new section to my chapter has been added. If you like the idea of Majin Gohan and would like to read something while you wait for me to update, this section is for you!

Every time I find a new Majin Gohan story I will post it here…

**Revenge of the Majin **by **Acoustic Transmission **_id:1079231_

The main thing I can say about this story is that it has a VERY surprising ending. It takes place after the Buu saga and is generally situated around the couple Gohan and Videl. A lot of gruesome violence is contained in this story (Which is probably why it is rated M) so be warned! There is an amazing evil (and insane) Gohan in this story too.

In my personal opinion I found this story pretty awesome. It has an interesting plot along with some of the most amazing twists. It picks up fast and has a more understandable transformation. The reason for this is because Babidi (And an unexpected companion) decide to slower drawn out that titbit of evil in the boy's heart. This means that it doesn't happen straight away like in my story.

Here are a few important details about the story:

Status: Complete – 12 Chapters

Genre: Angst/Action/Adventure

Rated: M for Violence and Language

Words: 20903

Summary: COMPLETE "No you're wrong, Gohan. There is something I can do." Goku's face shifted into a somber look, the same one he'd always gotten during a fight. "To keep that fate from everyone else on Earth, I will kill you." Rated for lang. and violence

I hope that information makes it easier to find!


	16. Broadcast

Chapter Sixteen – Broadcast (This chapter was brought to you by Babidi's amazingly powerful wizard powers)

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: What if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin. Dabura left from his fight with Gohan to tell his Master about Vegeta, but the wizard refuses to work with that short pain in the butt. Babidi has his mind set on someone else, but who? Goku or Gohan?

Disclaimer: Sadly, Dragonball Z will never be mine…

Warning: For a split second, in this chapter, Goten will be naked, but it's nothing graphical. Not something to worry about.

Review Replies

**LauraNeat0**: Dragonball/Z/GT can be a very confusing thing eh? Their biggest plot hole is defiantly the dragonballs. They always have different chants, always bending the rules so people like Krillin can be wished back. I'm not a huge GT fan, so I don't know much about the robot thing, since I have only watched that series through one time. But at least I've watched it all; I haven't watched any of the original series and missed almost the entire Android saga (I did see Cell though! And how Gohan kicked his butt. Hehe…). But anyway…

Thanks for the comment on my writing; I don't think any of my other reviews make me feel quite as good as you do. You've got me instantly writing the next chapter almost as soon as I post! And I have considered becoming a novelist. It's a lot easier than drawing I can tell you that! Hope you review the next chapter!

**Lady Tsuru**: I must ask; did you eventually find that story? I know it's a good one to read! (A little sick in some places though… But that's what makes it much more enjoyable)

**Sabudabu**: The best Buu saga rendition you say? Thanks! I think it's coming along nicely myself. And as for the fact that Vegeta's alive, just thank **LauraNeat0** and **darksupersaiyan** for pointing out that because Vegeta never turned Majin, he should have been brought back to life.

……………………………

_With a clear of the throat, Babidi addressed the pathetic population of earth once more, "I am the omnipotent wizard Babidi, son of the great wizard Bibidi. I'm so sorry to bother you, especially if you're having an otherwise pleasant day."_

_His face twisted into an unhappy frown as he said the next part, "I too, know what it's like to be pestered while having fun! You see, earlier today, three nuisances did just that!" The menacing grin that once accompanied his face appeared again, "Now I'm simply looking to return the favour!"_

"_These are the three cretins I am looking for." His ugly, scaly fingers lifted up into the air, and three faces appeared in the earth's vision._

_The first was Trunks…_

…_The other Goten…_

…_And the last one was none other than Piccolo._

……………………………

Piccolo gasped when he saw his face in the list of people who Babidi was looking for. His brow started to leak with sweat and his teeth grinded together.

He was torn, what was he suppose to do? Babidi was looking for him, along with the boys, and Babidi was willing to destroy the earth and everyone living on it just so he could get to them. So, should he hand himself over to the wizard or watch as the people of the planet died right in front of him?

It was best to stay, chances were that Babidi would destroy the earth anyway, knowing how truly twisted the little wizard was. If there was one rule when associating with villains, it was to never trust them. And he didn't trust Babidi.

That decided it, he would stay put.

So, with that conclusion, his thoughts were ripped away from the demented wizard, to Piccolo's one and only student. Gohan. It was so hard to see that once innocent boy surge with so much negative energy. But he was, and right now, there was nothing they could do about it.

Or there might be something. The Supreme Kai seemed to know a lot about Babidi's mind controlling powers, and perhaps he knew a way of breaking Gohan from this spell. It was worth a shot, even all the knowledge he had received when fusing with Kami didn't have an answer to this dilemma. So yeah, Supreme Kai would be the only one to have any idea at all.

With that decided, Piccolo's eyes flew open, and the image of Gohan, Babidi and Buu disappeared. But the voices still rang through his ears. He ignored them for now, and made his way over to the higher Kai.

"Supreme Kai," He began, coming into eye contact with the short, purple god. "Is there any way we can get Gohan back to normal?" He asked, that small tinge of hope easily noted in his voice.

"There is one," He told the troubled namek, his gaze leaving Piccolo's and going over to Goku who was still listening to the words of Babidi. "I have already explained it to the saiyans. He needs a reason to be on our team, and perhaps right now he cannot find one. There is actually very little we can do, but we can still do something."

Piccolo nodded, "I understand." He murmured, but still clear enough for the Kai to hear.

"I must warn you though," Once again, Supreme Kai's eyes meet with Piccolo's, "Not many, if any, have managed to break from Babidi's, or even Bibidi's spell before." The Kai sighed, right from the start, he had had high hopes for the boy's true part in the defeat of Buu. Those hopes had been shattered thanks to these turns of events.

But that didn't matter anymore; perhaps the legend should be neglected until the right opportunity shows its face again. Perhaps, right now, the only thing to concentrate on was breaking Babidi's hold on Gohan's tortured soul.

Piccolo, oblivious to Supreme Kai's thoughts on some kind of unknown legend, closed his eyes to watch the rest of Babidi's transmission. Something told him that this was important.

……………………………

_His arms returned to his sides, "Get a good look at them! They are to blame for any and all destruction that may come your way! Come out you little cowards!" The images slowly faded away, and, as usual, Babidi smirked. A smirk to illustrate a plan, one that would leave the population of the peaceful city below screaming for their lives, "I've got a preview of what's in store for you if you refuse to show your faces!"_

_Babidi's body slowly floated over to his left, where a fat, pink menace stood. A happy smile was existent on his childlike face, but for the Z fighters, who knew of this monster's true intentions, gagged at the sight of him._

"_This is my faithful servant Majin Buu, the heavy weight champion of the universe! He may not seem like much, but he's actually unstoppable!" In a frenzy of pride, Majin Buu started to punch the air around him, causing a small gust of wind to sweep their forms. But Babidi ignored this side effect, and clapped his scaly hands in excitement, "Just watch him go!" He exclaimed._

_He left the pink menace to himself, and floated over to his other servant. Gohan didn't turn to face him; instead, he stared blankly into the invisible camera that was taping them at that very moment. To anyone who looked at him, especially his friends and family residing on the lookout, they could see the pain reflected in his eyes. A pain Babidi was delighted to feed off._

"_And over here, the newest recruit to my deliciously evil team, Majin Gohan! Isn't he just a magnificent example of an earthling saiyan?" Babidi sent a delighted smirk towards the screen, knowing that a description like that would truly affect the people who cared for the boy._

……………………………

Chichi, the mother of Gohan, couldn't seem to tear her mindful eyes away from her son. He seemed so real to her, so close. Her mother's intuition told her that her son needed comforting right now, and how she longed to give him that particular comfort.

Her face fell into her shaking hands as the tears continued to flow.

Goku had said he was dead, but he seemed much worse, floating next to that demented little wizard. He looked so miserable too, with that vacant expression on his face. She really didn't know what to do about it; there was nothing she could do. And that scared her.

Mother's always had an influence on their children, but right now she couldn't even talk to him. She wished she could just have that simple connection.

Then a thought came to her, Goku had instant Transmission, and he could take her to him. But those thoughts were cut off as a strange sentence echoed through her mind.

_And over here, the newest recruit of my deliciously evil team, Majin Gohan! Isn't he just a magnificent example of an earthling saiyan?_

Her tears were still flowing down her cheeks, but she was staring off into space, oblivious to them. Had she just heard right, was Gohan on the other side? The evil side? No, he couldn't be! He was her son. But then she remembered that moment when Gohan had blasted a hole right through that stadium, killing hundreds of people.

He didn't even look like he cared.

It had been so horrible to watch, she had fainted at the sight of it. And as that image flashed through her mind, she repeated the same action.

She fainted.

……………………………

_The delighted little wizard floated away from the tortured boy, and came back into the centre of the screen. With a flick of the head, he motioned towards the city below them._

"_Now do you see this city?" He pointed a long, thin finger at the buildings below him, "It looks like a lovely place to live, doesn't it? Well now, the citizens of this delightfully peaceful little burg are going to get a sneak preview of the high cost of your cowardice, while you look on from your hiding place!" He sent their minds eye another smirk, and turned to the pink servant on his left, "Let the fun begin, Majin Buu!"_

_For a minute, Majin Buu didn't show any signs of action. But slowly he started to move, and finally his actions turned into a dance. As the monster jumped from one foot to the other, his yellow-gloved fists pumped the air above him._

_Finally, with a deafening screech, the Majin yelled, "BUU WANT CANDY!"_

_Babidi smiled, knowing perfectly well how to satisfy that appetite for human –turned into candy- flesh. Babidi's small body hovered over to his father's creation, and took a long look at the city below him. He looked up into the closed eyes of Majin Buu, and gave the monster a small, meaningful nod._

_For a few seconds, that childish monster jumped from side to side on the spot. But when his excitement died down, which it rarely does, he turned back to the city below him. He focused his fighters mind on the figures below. His short arms stretched out, and started to advance higher into the air._

_And just like when that one little boy had become Majin Buu's dinner, people started to rise above the cities highest buildings. Many different terrified screams echoed around them, clearly heard in the minds ear._

……………………………

"Why isn't Big Brother helping those people!"

Bubbles flew everywhere as Goten's little arms flapped around in the water. Trunks, who was sitting on the other end of the bath, didn't answer his friend, he just kept his eyes clamped together and watched what his best friend was watching.

He let out a large exhale of breath, and finally replied, "I don't know, Goten!"

The seven-year-old's little fists pounded at the water in frustration, "Something's wrong with him, Trunks!"

The lavender haired child nodded, and that stayed silent after that, lost in the thoughts swimming around in their heads.

Both of them had never seen Gohan like this, and like so many other people described him, he looked miserable! Goten always remembered him as a big brother who was always there, while Trunks found him to be the big brother he never had.

Trunks growled, not liking to see his only role model, aside from Vegeta of course, look like that. Gohan was really strong; he could help those people no sweat, right? But the fact was he wasn't helping them, he was just floating there, as though he didn't care.

But he cared! Gohan cared about everyone and everything! So there must be something more than what their minds could see.

There was that scaly little thing floating next to him, he could have something to do with it. But he was tiny, and in Trunks mind, didn't look like he could do anything physically. But they had never seen Babidi's power in action - well there was that one time at the tournament – so they didn't really know what the little wizard was truly capable of.

Personally, they had both expected '_the omnipotent wizard Babidi'_ to be taller, more muscular, and perhaps even have better taste in clothes. Yet they had been presented with this scaly, short, yellow skinned guy with a rather large ego.

But since when did they care about the lizard turned into a man anyway, this was about Gohan, and how the two boys were going to help.

So Goten, dripping with soap and water, jumped out of the bath and sprinted over to the door. His intentions were to get his father to take them there, Gohan had once told him about something called instant transmission after all.

The angry voice of his best friend Trunks stopped him however, "GOTEN!" He stopped in his tracks, and came to the realization that he was naked.

A tomato coloured blush appeared on his cheeks, and all thoughts of the sudden crisis were forgotten for that split second. He quickly grabbed his clothes; they were sitting on a chair next to the bathtub, and quickly slipped them on.

With that done, he ran over to the door once more and rushed out, leaving Trunks to himself.

As she sped into the next room, a large object knocked him to the ground. He skidded across the floor, but eventually stopped. Once he did, he sat up, woozily bringing a small hand up to his head, "What happened?" He muttered, looking around the room.

Soon, his eyes came to his mother, unconscious on the floor. He scurried over to her on his hands and knees. Once he was close enough to her, he gave her a little nudge.

"Mommy?"

……………………………

_Gohan watched, with a vacant expression, as slowly, one by one, the people turned into simple pieces of candy. Inside, he was hurt to see those innocent people die, but a part of him enjoyed it. He wished that part of him would just wither away, leave him alone, he was never one to enjoy other people's pain. But it made no difference now; the part of him that thrived for this was over shadowing his simple, positive half. All thanks to Babidi._

_That wizard had caused him so much grief, yet at the same time had set him free. He had always had a slight, typical saiyan reaction to watching people suffer, but he had always ignored it and had always cried for whoever was being tortured._

_And right now, his swollen lips longed to send out a frustrated cry for those people. The people he would have saved in a heartbeat, even with the cost of his own life. Fear overcame his instincts, and he stood still, just realizing now that, no matter how much he denied it, he was truly frightened of his current master._

_And right then, Gohan, defeater of Cell, son of Goku, just admitted that he lived in fear. That he didn't have any intention of saving anybody at the moment for fear of the consequences._

_Gohan knew perfectly well that Babidi had the power to drive him insane, and that wasn't a road he was willing to take. And, as long as that 'M' engraved into his forehead was still there, Babidi could control everything about him. He could easily take away his power, or even take it beyond its limits. He could morph his emotions into something he didn't want. And perhaps that's what scared Gohan the most._

_Babidi's excited voice meet his ears, and he was brought back to the reality of the world around him._

"_Very good Buu!" He heard the wizard, his master, say, "But now look at that pathetic little city! I have to say, what use is a city if no one lives there? Gohan!" The boy instantly floated over to Babidi's side, all thoughts now vacant, perhaps stored in a little box that resided in his mind, ready to be visited again in the near future._

_He raised a rather large hand, one much like his fathers, to face the city, and started to gather power in his fingertips. The small balls of energy crackled in the air as Gohan applied more power to them. Finally they were ready, and, one by one, he released them into the depths of the city._

_A loud explosion was heard, and the city was surrounded in a ball of flaming hot fire. Gohan winced under the heat, but managed to keep his mind focused. Soon, the city was covered in flames that sat atop the burning buildings._

_Gohan's face twisted into an uncharacteristic smile as he watched the city burn. He paid no mind to his own reaction, and turned back to the small wizard floating in front of him._

"_Good boy," The wizard congratulated in a quiet voice. To Gohan, it sounded as though the wizard had expected him not to destroy the building. He had said those two words as if he was saying that he had made the right decision._

_His small figure turned back to the screen, and instantly his voice regained its volume, "This is but a small taste of what will happen if you don't surrender. If those three meddlers don't show themselves, Majin Buu, along with Majin Gohan, will destroy everyone on the entire planet!"_

_His face twisted into a smile, and his scaly fingers linked together in front of his chest, "I think I've made my point." If anyone knows where those three are, you'd better tell me. You have five days to tell me where they are hiding, or else all of the people on this planet will be annihilated!"_

_And instantly, Babidi's image faded away from their view._

……………………………

Videl felt her legs turn to jelly from under her, and she had to use a strong white pillar nearby to keep her balance. _Poor Gohan…_ was all her mind seemed to say. Although her emotions were deeper than just those two simple words, they were the only syllables she could find in her vocabulary.

But despite the poor choice of words, she was utterly shocked. Sweet innocent Gohan, the boy she had gone to high school with not too long ago was a cold-hearted killer. But she didn't believe her own mind; he wasn't like them, Babidi and Buu, not at all. Even now, when he just destroyed buildings once filled with people, he didn't look like he belonged with them.

Which meant that they should do everything in their power to save him. But taking a quick glance at the people around, and noticing their pained expressions of disbelief, you could tell they had given up on the boy.

But they probably hadn't, not yet anyway.

Then a thought came to her; maybe there was more to Gohan than she already knew. But how many more secrets could this boy have? He had always seemed pretty peaceful at school. But now he was destroying buildings with a flick of the wrist, it just didn't add up!

Her mind was riddled with all the possibilities of the current situation, but every one of them just left more questions. It was so frustrating!

Then, she suddenly felt worried for her father back on earth. Babidi was down their destroying everything in his path and her father was a sitting duck. If she had not found out about Gohan's secret, she wouldn't be worried. But she did know about Gohan, and she needed to help her father.

Perhaps Goku could take her; he had got them up here in the blink of an eye after all.

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted 10 July 2005 - 3111 words

I hope everybody enjoyed that Chapter, it was a bit hard for me to write, but I got there in the end!

Ok, I finally have a plan on how I will handle writing two stories at once! Well, since this story is a bit harder to write and requires longer chapters, I will update this once a month and use the rest of my time to generate as many chapters as I can for 'A Date with Disaster'. So yeah, I guess that means I won't start writing up chapter 17 until the first of August! Oh well… See you then!

Another Majin Gohan story 

Yes… A new section to my chapter has been added. If you like the idea of Majin Gohan and would like to read something while you wait for me to update, this section is for you!

Every time I find a new Majin Gohan story I will post it here…

**Misguided Tendencies **by **paxbanana **_id:__ 1669882_

One of the best Majin Gohan stories on It may have the same order of events of the show, but it is nothing like it! The whole story centres on an event that never happened in the series and could come as a surprise for you. So don't be alarmed if you come across talk about events you never even heard about.

It has a few interesting original characters that are quite crucial to the plot, so if you're a fan of surviving saiyans, you'll love the new characters.

It picks up after Vegeta blows himself up to destroy Buu, so both Vegeta and Gohan have been Majin in this story.

Here are a few important details about the story:

Status: Incomplete – 15 Chapters

Genre: Angst/Action/Adventure

Rated: M for Drug use, Language and Violence

Words: 69,740

Summary: The Z fighers must find a way to survive as Buu terrorizes Earth, but their worries are multiplied: Gohan is now on Babidi's Majin team. Now their only option may be to kill Goku's son. Chapter 14 now completely uploaded.

I hope that information makes it easier to find!


	17. One Deadly New Trick

Chapter Seventeen – One Deadly New Trick

By rainbowraindeer

Summary: It's amazing, how one small change in plans can result in the entire Buu saga being rewritten. So in this story, the question is, what if Vegeta wasn't the one who turned Majin? But whom else can Babidi possibly choose from? Goku or Gohan? Gohan & Videl

Yep, I changed the summary. I just didn't find the other one as well written. Perhaps it's just me, but it sounded kind of funny. But hey, if anyone preferred the original one, I have sixteen chapters that it's posted on!

Disclaimer: You know, as much as I'd love to, I don't own Dragonball Z.

Review Replies

**LauraNeat0**: Yes, I always found that lizard comment to be comedy gold, and can't help but use it. In fact, I'll probably use it again some time.

I'm stuck in a hole here, some people would prefer if I made Gohan nice, yet some people – like you – think he should be more evil. But hey, perhaps you're right, he does truly enjoy the killings; he just can't really bring himself to commit them. Under Babidi's influence and that mind-electrocuting trick, I'm sure the boy will be killing left, right and centre soon enough.

I have someone in mind who will truly bring out Gohan's evil side when he kills them, but that part is a long way off.

And you know what, I actually like the idea you've got going there, and can probably promise you a Vegeta vs. Gohan in the near future, even if it's just to by the fusers some time. But if you remember, there was a Vegeta vs. Gohan in chapter two; another one isn't a bad idea though.

Maybe you should write a Majin Gohan story one day, perhaps after you finish your GT remake, or the sequel to it, because with an imagination like that, I'm sure It would be incredibly interesting.

**MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**: Although I'm not one who likes Gohan to become super powerful in a short amount of time, that does sound pretty cool. Give it a go, because I'm sure many people would like to read it, me included of course.

And thanks to everyone else who reviewed: Shadow Dreamer 27, Lady Tsuru, lady-kagome84, satan'stoasterstudel and DarkKeitaro. It's much appreciated!

……………………………

"Well I have to say, that went better than expected." Babidi chuckled, watching as the world faded away from his vision. "Now all we have to do… is wait."

He suddenly erupted in energized laughter; his minions were actually quite used to it, so both of them didn't react much. But Buu, who eventually joined him, added his two cents with childish giggles of infamous succession and victory.

Gohan watched them, sour expression in place. It was amazing, how they could be so happy about what they had just done, why couldn't he feel that joy? He felt it a to a small degree; it caused him to smirk, a little bit. But it left a disgusting taste in his mouth, one he didn't like to experience.

A small clod of saliva formed in his mouth, and he angrily spat it out onto the deserted city below them. It was still on fire, filling the air with a thin layer of soot. Yet the wizard and the monster danced happily through it, blowing it this way and that into the uncontaminated air around them.

Gohan sighed, still wondering why he didn't feel the same as they did. He killed, just like them, he watched the suffering, just like them, but never had the same reaction, it just didn't make any sense, and perhaps it never would. Maybe he just wasn't meant for such a destructive life, maybe…

So Gohan was left floating there, now wondering what he would do with himself now that Babidi had stopped his killing spree for awile. His hand suddenly felt hot, like he was holding a flaming ball of lava. He looked down, and saw a freshly made ki blast, ready to throw.

"Buu!" He yelled, instantly getting the usually disobedient monster's attention, "Care for a spar?"

He didn't know why he had asked; Buu was much stronger than him in every possible way. Speed, strength, endurance, experience, yet he desperately needed – yes, needed – something or someone to let out all of his left over rage on. His didn't know where this rage come from, it was just there, ready to be released.

Automatically, Buu's podgy, round head nodded up and down, and Gohan let the now large ball of ki go, right at the creature.

With an earth-shattering giggle, Buu bounced out of the way of the attack and sent his own blast right back at the boy. Since Buu was just playing with his small, teenage opponent, Gohan dodged it easily, and the fight began, one that Babidi couldn't even follow.

Babidi knew all about a saiyan's ability to come back even stronger after a fight, so he wasn't too worried about tiring Gohan out. He had the powers to heal him anyway; the only reason Gohan hadn't been absolutely healed during that fight with his father was because he hadn't had enough time to complete the process. But all he had to do was tell Buu to stop, and he'd have the perfect opportunity to heal the teenager.

Now that Babidi had reassured himself that the boy would be all right, he was able to watch the fight, even if the only thing he could see was little pink and white dots jetting around the sky.

But back to the fight…

A yellow glove ripped through the infected air, right for Gohan's face. Not having enough time to dodge, the punch hit it's target. And the boy was sent flying back, but managed to catch himself.

Gohan powered up, wondering why he hadn't done so before, right into his highest super saiyan level, the one discovered during his fight with Cell. With newfound power, he charged at the pink monster, fist raised high. As soon as he reached Buu, a furry of speedy punches rocketed towards the monsters stomach. Buu simply floated there, making no attempt to stop the barrage of attacks.

Every punch the boy threw let out a small fraction of his anger. He was angry with himself, the Z warriors… and Babidi. He didn't know why he was angry with his master, ever since his transformation from good to evil; he had been quite obedient. But deep down, he wanted to kill the wizard, rip through that scaly yellow flesh like it was nothing. He just needed the right opportunity.

It was a lot like the feeling he had gotten while fighting Cell, he wanted to make that monster pay for all the crimes he had done, even when Goku, his father, seemed to have been handling it. Something always held him back; it was most probably fear. Like all saiyans, he loathed that feeling, but couldn't control it.

So lost in his thoughts, the boy didn't see a bored fist strike at his head, all he heard before the attack was a loud yawn. He was thrown to the side, and silently floated there, stiff as a board. Then, a large kick connected with his stomach, taking the air right out of him.

He weakly smiled, watching a strain of blood enter the open air. He hadn't had a good fighting match in a few hours, the last being his stupid father. It was good to get some exercise, even though the opponent he was facing was far from weak. Still, the saiyan healing genes coursed through his veins, and he knew that after a fight as tough as this one, he should become quite strong.

But despite the fact that he knew this battle was lost, he kept at it, by grabbing the very glove on the monsters hand. With a confident smirk, he pushed himself away from Buu and flipped onto the monsters head, kicking him back in the process.

Buu, now in the shape of a ball, rolled uncontrollably through the air, but finally it came to a stop. Gohan watched him, a raised eyebrow focused on the purple caped back. And suddenly, at speeds unimaginable, the Buu ball changed it's course and starting heading straight for the boy. Within a few more seconds, the round object was covered in white, flowing ki.

Gohan gasped, and quickly swerved to the right, barely dodging it.

"Pow!" Buu called, untangling himself. He jumped for joy and turned to face Gohan. "Me showed Gohan new trick!"

The boy weakly nodded, a little frightened. That little 'trick' could have very well killed him. Babidi seemed to have noticed that fact too, as his booming voice – so strange for such a small creature – was heard over the harsh rushing sounds of the wind around him.

"Buu! You almost took that boy's head off!" Gohan couldn't help but snicker; it would have been a lot more than his head. "But I like it! Next time we face an enemy, take them down with that!" Gohan watched as the wizard started dancing around again, humming to himself.

"Gohan ready to fight?" Buu asked, causing Gohan to turn around. "It fun when me fight Gohan!" He laughed happily.

"Yeah," Gohan replied, brushing the dust off his slightly worn uniform. The white fabric didn't look so white anymore. "I'm ready to go again." He said, moving into a fighting position, ready for any attack Buu would throw at him.

……………………………

Piccolo watched the fight, leaning over the edge of the lookout. _At least seven years of continuous studying didn't make him too sloppy _his mind told him, trying to find a bright side to all that had happened. And right now, all he could think about was Gohan's training; it took his mind off everything else after all.

But soon those thoughts came flooding back, and a familiar question filled his mind once more, why had all of this happened? Sure, he kind of knew why, the boy had felt guilty for 'killing' his father, but he had gotten over that rather quickly. There must have been something else fuelling it, something deeper.

But no matter what it was, Piccolo thought he might know a solution. Videl. She and Gohan were pretty close, and no matter how much the two ignored it, and denied it, they were a lot closer than 'just best friends'. The namek didn't know about love that much, as his race was an all male species. But he had been on the lookout for about seven years now, he had been able to observe the human population, and had seen this 'love' in a few places around the place.

To Piccolo, it was a waste of emotions, but still looked… nice. But no matter what he thought about it, he believed it might be the only way to save the boy. He needed to be reminded of reasons to stay on their team, and Videl could very well be one of them. It was a long shot, and Gohan was at quite a delicate state at the moment, but still…

…She could be the answer.

……………………………

"Mommy?" Goten asked again, giving the woman another nudge. "Are you okay?" He questioned her unconscious form.

When no answer came from his mother of seven years, he got back to his feet. His big, wide eyes glanced around the room, looking for someone who could help. "Trunks!" The child happily exclaimed, knowing his best friend would have some idea of what to do.

So with a skip, he pranced over to the door, and back into the bathroom, where he found Trunks desperately trying to pull on the bottom part of his gi. He already had a pair of briefs on –naturally- of course.

"Trunks! My-mommy's-in-the-next-room-but-she-fainted-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-so-I-came-to-you-because-you-always-know-what-to-do, so-what-do-we-do?" Goten asked, strangely not out of breath at the end. Trunks didn't understand why, he was sure the sentence his best friend had just blurted out had absolutely no full stops in it. But what did Trunks really know about grammar anyway?

"Whoa! Whoa!" Trunks raised his hands in the air to stop the ongoing attack of linking words, "Slow down, will ya?" He pulled on the rest of his pale green gi before saying anything more, "Something about your mom fainting?" He asked, reciting all that he could of Goten's speech, right now that was about all he could remember.

Goten nodded his head up and down, "Uh-huh! Uh-huh!"

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Trunks asked gruffly, pushing past his friend and heading over to the door.

"Well I don't know…" Goten replied, twiddling his thumbs as he thought about it, "Maybe help me carry her to a soft bed."

"Man Goten! Do you really think I know where a bed is in this stupid place?"

"Umm…?"

"Forget it!" Trunks growled, twisting the handle of the bathroom and pushing it open. "We'll just have to find one!" He looked into the room, and was soon able to lay his big blue eyes on Chichi. She looked like she was sleeping rather peacefully, despite the fact that she was on her back and her mouth was hanging wide open.

Goten pushed past him, running over to his mother, "Come on Trunks!" He called to his fellow demi saiyan, "Help me carry her!"

"Fine, whatever…" And with that, he made his way over to the sleeping woman in the middle of the room.

He grabbed Chichi's legs, and was about to lift her onto his back, with Goten supporting the head, when Mr. Popo walked calmly into the room.

"I see you're finished with your bath." The black genie chimed.

Goten gave him an energized nod. "Can you help us with my Mommy, Mr. Popo?" He asked as innocently as he could, which actually wasn't too hard for him.

"Of course I will. You children can run along while I place Mrs. Son in a bed located just down the hall."

"You will? Thanks Mr. Popo!" Goten smiled, and grabbed onto Trunks' hand, leading the boy hoping out of the room.

"So where are we going now?" Trunks asked once they had exited the dining room.

"I need to find my dad!" Goten told him, finally letting go of his friend's hand. Trunks slowly rubbed it, but kept with the pace of Goten, "We need to help Gohan!"

"Right!" Trunks agreed with a famous nod. Then, a confused look overcame his face. He stopped, causing Goten to stop also. "How is your dad going to help _us_ help Gohan?"

"Well… he has that Instant Transmission thing, right?"

"Right."

"He can use that to take us to my big brother!"

"Oh yeah!" Trunks walked up to the boy, who was further down the hall than him. He gave Goten a strong pat on the back, "That's pretty smart Goten. Too bad I'll have to take credit for it!"

"What! That's no fair, Trunks!"

Trunks calmly walked passed him, "I was just kidding, buddy!" And with that, he started running down the hall again.

"Oh…" Goten said quietly. But when he saw his friend turn the corner, he yelled, "Wait for me Trunks!" And ran off after him.

……………………………

"This is horrible!" A terrified woman exclaimed, practically ripping out her locks of short blue hair from their roots. "My parents are still down there, what if Buu gets to them?"

"It'll be okay Bulma," Goku, who just happened to be standing right next to her, said comfortedly. "We can just wish them back with the Dragonballs!" Goku let out a childish laugh, but Bulma was hardly amused.

"Is that your answer for everything, Goku?" She asked, annoyance dripping from her tone, "Just wish them back with the Dragonballs and everything will be fine and dandy?" Her arms crossed angrily over her chest, "It's not always that easy."

Goku's eyes widened as thoughts of Gohan flooded into his mind, "I know…" He murmured, knowing it wouldn't be that easy to get his son back that easily either.

Videl slowly came over to them, which caused Goku to brighten up, as he didn't want to get Gohan's 'girlfriend' worried too much. The concern for her father was shining in her bright blue eyes, "My father's down there too, he wouldn't stand a chance against Buu."

If it had been only a week or so ago, Videl would have never believed what she had just said. Even though she had had doubts about her fathers strength since her encounter with the powerful, airborne, Great Saiyaman, she would have thought he could stand up to a creature like Buu, the monster hardly looked intimidating at all. That was far from the truth of course. But if she had never met Gohan, she would be on Earth at that very moment thinking to herself that even she could beat Buu. So being a threat to her father was out of the question.

"I don't think we want Hercule exposed to any of this…" Goku told her, coal black eyes scanning the area around them.

"I suppose…" She said quietly, knowing very well that her father would freak if he were ever to discover that such a god like Kami… er… Dende existed. "I'm sure he'll be okay," She tried to convince herself.

"That's the spirit!" Goku exclaimed happily, giving her a pat on the back. A pat on the back that almost sent her tumbling forwards. But she managed to regain her footing before anyone noticed she had almost lost it.

"We should really be focusing on Gohan…" She whispered, feeling a tiny prickle of fresh salt-water tears in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She had to stay strong… for Gohan.

Goku's shoulders drooped, "Yeah," He murmured, eyes slipping to the ground, "We need to help Gohan, no distractions."

Videl let a small smile appear on her face, but no one around her managed to catch it, as it disappeared almost instantly. She was happy that Gohan's father was actually worried, only a mere minute ago she had had her doubts. She may not have known Goku for very long, but she already knew he was quite hard to read sometimes.

Suddenly, a thought came to her, and she couldn't help but voice it, "_Is_ there anyway to help him?"

Goku gave her a sympathetic smile, trying to reassure her that he was saveable, "Of course there is, Videl," He answered, "We just have to give him a reason to come back to us, to fight for good again."

Videl raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding that sentence. Why would Gohan need a reason? He had his family, friends and… her. If something were troubling him, she would be more than happy to help him through it; didn't he know that? Didn't he know that he wasn't alone in this world? Perhaps she needed to remind him…

"Take me to Gohan, now!" She commanded, receiving the sudden urge to talk to him – for obvious reasons.

Goku shook his head, "I can't do that Videl, who knows what would happen…"

"Please…" She whispered, suddenly losing all power in her voice that she held mere seconds before. She felt a single wet tear slip down her creamy white cheek, "I just need to talk to him."

Goku heard her whisper, and, even though his lips didn't utter a sound, his mind answered her with an unhappy tone. _We all need to, Videl. We all need to…_

……………………………

To be continued…

……………………………

Posted 19 August 2005 - 2878 words

I apologise for the late-ness of this wretched chapter, it's not even that long. But I had so much going on this month, and never really had time for it. Besides, I kind of had trouble getting it just perfect, I knew how I wanted each scene to end, I just didn't know how to get there. But finally, I have it finished and ready for my loyal reviewers to read and enjoy it!

I don't know if many people actually read these little author notes, but I'd appreciate it if you did! (Just wanted to let you know that!)

Another Majin Gohan story 

Sadly, this will be the last story for a while, as I know of no others. If you know of any other Majin Gohan stories than the three I have already posted, don't be afraid to post one in a review. I would be happy to read a few more, and I'm sure the reviewers feel the same way.

Thank you!

**The Unexpected Target **by **Thanos6 **_id:__ 489709_

I will tell you right now, I found this story long after I started writing 'Unexpected Majin' so I did not copy the title. I just thought you might need to know that, since we both have the word 'Unexpected' in our titles.

Anyway, this story is part of a "Royalty Series" started by the author, but you don't have to read the other fictions in the saga to truly enjoy it.

It takes place while Gohan and Videl are married, and still fighting crime as Great Saiyaman and Great Saiyaman two, only Pan hasn't been born yet.

Thanks to a spell cast in HFIL, Babidi manages to bring himself back to life. With Revenge securely set in his wicked little mind, he makes his way to planet earth.

I'm not going to reveal anymore, so you'll have to read it for yourself. All I am going to say is that Gohan's transformation is rather quick, and thanks to Videl, it doesn't last very long. But in this story, Gohan isn't really after Goku; he's after Chichi.

This story doesn't contain much action, as Gohan doesn't really hurt anyone, except Babidi of course.

Here are a few important details about the story:

Status: One Shot – 1 Chapter

Genre: Humour/Drama

Rated: T

Words: 3,861

Summary: Babidi returns from the grave to strike at the Son family, with quite unpredictable results...

I'm sure you'll have no problem finding it…

Oh, and one more thing, I know I don't usually do this, and will probably never do it again, but I feel that I should give you a little sneak peak of the next chapter, since I always seem to make you wait a long time. You might as well what your waiting for. Besides, I have kind of gotten into the mood of sneak peaks lately, and I actually know exactly which piece to post.

Here it is:

"_Tell me what you know!" He commanded, hands clenching and unclenching angrily at his sides._

_Gohan winced, suddenly feeling very weak. He seriously didn't want to tell Babidi anything, but he did know exactly where they were hiding. Perhaps it was the smidge of loyalty he still contained within his being. Or perhaps, it was Videl. Despite all he had been through, she was the only one keeping him up. Sure there was Goten, a boy he had promised so long ago to protect. But Videl was different; Goten was born into a family of saiyans, who were all used to this kind of thing._

_As a little toddler, Goten had been told many stories about past adventures. Mainly his fathers. As that sentence circled his mind, Gohan growled, suddenly irritating the yellow skinned wizard standing in front of him. But he soon ignored it, along with the wizard's growling, and continued with his reasoning._

_But Videl had been dragged into the whole mess, thanks to him. Suddenly he was filled with regret for ever getting to know her, she didn't deserve this._

"_Well?" Babidi asked, breaking the demi-saiyan out of his thoughts._

_Taking a deep breath, Gohan answered with the seven words Babidi lacked the patience to hear, "I don't know what you're talking about…"_

Tell me if you want another sneak peak anytime soon!


	18. His Betrayal

**Chapter Eighteen – His Betrayal**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: If I said I owned DBZ, would you truly and honestly believe me?

Review Replies

**Lady-kagome84**: Yep! That last one (Chapter Seventeen) is my favourite so far; I think it came out great! (Except for the short-ness) As for Videl talking to Gohan, she will get her chance, and I promise to make that moment worth the wait, because it's not coming for a while. And speaking of worth the wait, glad the last chapter was.

**Shadow Dreamer 27**: And you'll be able to find out what happens at the end of this chapter, will he tell Babidi, or will he keep his lips sealed?

**Chimney Leaf**: Don't worry! I would never stop writing this fiction. I read myself, so I know how annoying it gets when people don't update for months and months. But I would never let this story go for more than two months without being updated. I try to update once every three or four weeks at the most, hope I can keep that system going…

**Satan'stoasterstudel**: I assure you, this story won't have a sad ending. Gohan will be cured. Buu will be dead. Easy as that.

**Darksupersaiyan**: Well, you won't actually know how strong Gohan got until he fights his next opponent (Who I will not reveal at this time) but with an enemy like Buu, he should end up pretty strong. (Plus he had that battle with Goku and that one with Vegeta, so he's a lot stronger than he was at the very start.)

**LauraNeat0**: She is really just a love interest in this story, but I never expected her to really completely free him. Right from the start I wanted Goku to play a huge role in releasing Gohan, along with Goten. At the start I didn't really plan on making Videl a main character, but as the story progressed, I thought that she could play quite an important role.

But anyway, as for your idea, I love it. And if you give me permission (Because it is your idea and everything… (Don't want to plagiarise!)), I will add it into my story.

I have it all planned out in my head on how the next few chapters will look, thanks for that!

**A**nd also, thank you Jeek da Geek and dragonwarriorkeltyr for reviewing as well. Sorry I don't have a reply for you two.

* * *

Vegeta flew through the air at a low speed – or low for a saiyan anyway – trying to keep his ki level as low as he could. He didn't want that wretched Babidi to track him down, or he might follow his power level to where he was headed, the lookout. He didn't want to endanger his son and his friend, or Piccolo. The wizard was looking for them; he didn't want to sell them out.

He was sure Gohan eventually would. That stupid boy was just too obedient. But he could be wrong, Gohan had the knowledge of where they were even when that pathetic broadcast had been playing, he hadn't said anything, even as the wizard asked the question only he, Son Gohan, could answer.

So he set those thoughts aside, and focused on the road ahead.

He knew how long it would take for him to get to the lookout, and it seemed to be about fifteen minutes. Vegeta let out a growl, frustrated that he had to hold back his speed. He knew he would have gotten to the lookout by now at full power. And holding back wasn't something he liked doing, or enjoyed for that matter. When you know you have the power to do something, but can't, it could get on someone's nerves.

But this was a case of life or death, his son's life. He didn't want to take any chances. So he would brave the rest of the flight. Besides, he was sure everybody would be amazed to see him. And if he kept his power level low enough, they would not even know he was there until he landed on that stony ground.

He smirked… He couldn't wait to see the look on their faces.

……………………………

Two boys, between the ages of 6 and 9, walked down the hall, having given up on running when realizing they were hopelessly lost. But still, they seemed to find the stretches of white walls and occasional blue diamonds to be quite fascinating.

Yes, eventually Goten had been able to catch up to Trunks. They had actually made reaching Goku first to be a competition. Of course that had been simply flushed down the toilet – so to speak – when, like I said only a paragraph before, they found themselves lost.

Now they were simply wandering down the stony halls in search of anything, _anything_ that could aid them in their quest for the outdoors.

"Why didn't we just ask Mr. Popo for directions?" Trunks questioned after about ten minutes of mind boggling quiet-ness. He really didn't see why they hadn't. It only seemed logical.

"Gee, Trunks…" Goten answered stupidly, "I don't know!"

Trunks' temper slowly crawed past its limits, but despite that, he managed not to attack Goten for his helpfulless-ness – if that was even a word. Instead, he clapped his hands together and brutally squeezed at the small appendages. He felt his anger slowly sink away, but the throbbing pains circling his hands easily replaced that.

"Ow!" He growled.

"Man, that was stupid, Trunks." Goten's childish voice echoed through his ears, making the scene strangely humorous.

Trunks rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but agree with his younger companion. That was kind of stupid. But, along with that stupid thing, a most obvious solution to their current dilemma came to him. "Of course!" He exclaimed, giving his face a soft – it was so obvious – slap.

"Of course what, Trunks?" Goten asked, becoming more and more confused at his friend's continually confusing behaviour.

"Why don't we just sense for them?" Trunks asked, throwing his arms out at his sides.

Goten stopped for a moment, obviously processing the new plan in his head. After only a second – probably Goten's best time yet – it clicked. "Oh yeah!" He said happily, showing a certain level of understanding.

Trunks ceased his walking to focus on the world around them, Goten following in his example. As soon as a powerful spark of energy clicked in each of their minds, two chubby, chibi fingers pointed in a certain direction, which just happened to be the way they came from. "That way!" They both said at the same time.

And the two were finally on their way again.

Thanks to a high level of speed, and excellent saiyan tracking skills, it didn't take long before the boy's were able to reach the bright, bright outside world. The white pavement in front of them was much like the inside, which left the boy's wondering why nobody ever decorated the place. But really, nobody on the planet cared. So they left those thoughts on the side, and starting looking for Goku from the doorway.

The first thing two sets of big round eyes managed to land on, was Supreme Kai and the pink dude, Kibito. They didn't seem to be doing anything very interesting. Just talking about nothing in particular. Well, when it came to the highest Kai in the known universe and his bodyguard, they were always talking about something important. But right now, the two children were only looking for one person.

Videl was the next to be spotted, silently staring up at the sky with an arm wrapped tightly around a nearby tree. She looked occupied, in a way, so they ignored her.

Next to reach their eyes was Bulma. She was mindlessly pacing back and forth, obviously muttering curse words into the air about the whole situation. She usually acted this way when worried or upset. Trunks shivered, he knew that was for sure.

"Ha! Go fish! I'm on a role!" They heard Krillin yell, drawing Goten and Trunks' attention for a second.

Master Roshi and Oolong – along with new comers Krillin and Eighteen, who was cheating for him – Had started up their game of 'Go Fish' again.

Goten was the first to lose interest in them, and was also the first to spot his father. He grabbed onto Trunks' uniform and tugged at it. "Over there, Trunks!" He told the eight-year-old, finger now pointing at the figure of Goku, who was standing silently next to Piccolo.

Before giving Trunks the chance to answer, or even spot the earth raised saiyan for himself, Goten started to drag the boy along. "Daddy! Daddy!" Goten yelled, quickly clearing the distance between them and his father.

Goku spotted the two boys now standing in front of him. He greeted them with a cheerful wave, "Hey kiddos!" He gave them a smile. "I was just about to go look for you two."

"Really?" Goten tilted his head to the side in a questioning stance, "What for Daddy?"

"Well, I wanted to teach you a new technique!" He widened his smile, and started to lightly rub the area just under his nose, "A fusion."

"What's a fusion?" Both Goten and Trunks asked at the same time. It was amazing how similar they sounded; this proved they were the right candidates to try the fusion technique.

"A fusion is where two people of similar size and power level, perform a series of dance steps, resulting in a totally different warrior, stronger than the two combined!" His hands came to his hips, "So, what do you say?"

Blue and Black eyes met for a split second, as though they were mentally discussing it with each other. No words were exchanged of course. Finally, Trunks and Goten both turned back to Goku, but Trunks was the one to speak.

"So you want us to fuse together?" He asked the obvious question, not expecting it to be answered, "And it will make us stronger?" Came another question, "Strong enough to defeat Buu?"

"Here's hoping!" Goku replied, giving them both a reassuring smile.

Goten shuffled his feet, looking sadly to the ground, "What about Gohan?"

Goku gave his youngest son a sympathetic smile, "What about him, son?"

A wavy voice returned, obviously tainted by the fact that the speaker was close to tears, "What if we have to fight him?" His lip quivered slightly, and he reached out his small hands to grab onto Goku's gi. With a sniffle, he buried his face in the fabric. "I don't want to fight my big brother!" Came a muffled sob.

"Hey! Hey!" He said, bending down to the child's level so he could wrap his arms around him, "Don't worry about it, Gohan would never hurt his favourite little brother, okay?"

Goten slowly pulled away from the safety of Goku's chest, and gave him a weak nod.

"Good." Goku stood up from his crouched position. Goten took a step back, "Are you ready to learn?"

"Yes Sir!" Both stood straight, in ready position. They exchanged sideways glances before giving all their attention to the deceased saiyan in front of them.

Goku's head tilted back so he could look at Piccolo, who was quietly watching over the earth. "You better watch this too, Piccolo. You'll have to take over when I go back to other world." He laughed, "You can't learn the fusion technique in less than a day after all!"

Piccolo growled, "Goku! It's not like we have all the time in the world!" He spun around to face the earth-raised saiyan, " Babidi has already taken out a third of the population! And it's only been a few hours!"

Goku sighed, "I guess we'll just have to work harder then." His eyes focused on the boys in front of him, and he suddenly became a little chirpier. "When you do this series of poses I'm about to show you, remember to mirror each other." When the two looked at him strangely, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean by mirror each other?" Trunks asked.

"Um, Well…" Goku's eyes drifted over to Piccolo, "Piccolo and I can show you." He motioned for Piccolo to join him, and so the namek moved hesitantly to the spot Goku was pointing to, "Now watch closely."

Slowly, Goku sent his arms in a straight line, facing away from Piccolo. "First, you need to make sure your arms are perfectly aligned with each other and your fingers are pointing outwards."

The next action Goku took was to take his arms over his head while taking three steps to the side, "When you do this, remember to say 'FU…'!"

The saiyan quickly raised a knee and sent his arms in the opposite direction, where they were once before. "For this part, you have to say '…SION…'!" He instructed.

"Now, bend your body in, and your fingers should meet the person you are fusing with. That's where you say 'HA!'" In a slow motion, like every other move he had made, he did just that, bent his body in so that his fingers met with his invisible partner.

Goku brought himself out of the stance, and smiled happily at the children, "Now Piccolo and I will show you what it should look like when two people do it!" He turned to the namek, but Piccolo was found staring at him blankly, almost in shock, or that's what it looked like. Goku raised an eyebrow, scratching his head in a familiar family Son motion.

"What?"

……………………………

The battle between Gohan and Buu had finished ages ago, and the Majin gang had found a quiet place to just relax after a long day of mindless destruction.

Buu had of course been the victor, but Gohan hadn't done too bad himself. And just like predicted, when Babidi had healed Gohan of his scratches and scraps – they were a lot more serious than that of course – he had come back stronger and better than before.

Perfect.

So silently, Babidi sat, waiting. Waiting for a reply, surly someone knew something about those pathetic cretins he was currently looking for. Those despicable, cowardly, meddling morons! Why wouldn't they show themselves? They probably didn't trust him; nobody would trust an evil unearthly villain bent on universal conquest.

Babidi laughed, causing a raised eyebrow from his part human part saiyan recruit, but he didn't see the gesture. He liked the sound of that – evil unearthly villain bent on universal conquest – in his own sick and twisted way. To him, it rolled off the tongue, and perhaps could be the best suited to describe a powerful wizard such as himself.

But that was just getting too off topic; only one thought was swimming through his mind. Revenge. Yes, revenge, such a sweet word, so perfectly suited for the brat's and that namekian, they had it coming after all.

Then another thought came to him. Gohan, his trusted minion, knew more than he was telling them. The boy was so wrapped up in a fight between good and evil that the wizard had neglected to get that particular information, knowing that Gohan's thoughts were making him much easier to control.

So with a cunning smirk, Babidi, son of Bibidi, hoped to his feet. He would get that information a lot sooner than he had expected, "Gohan!" He hissed, turning around to face the boy.

"Yes master?" Gohan asked, suddenly standing to attention. His voice dripped with newfound obedience, causing Babidi to chuckle quietly, just quietly enough for Gohan's excellent saiyan hearing to not pick it up.

"Tell me what you know!" He commanded, hands clenching and unclenching angrily at his sides.

Gohan winced, suddenly feeling very weak. He seriously didn't want to tell Babidi anything, but he did know exactly where they were hiding. Perhaps it was the smidge of loyalty he still contained within his being. Or perhaps, it was Videl. Despite all he had been through, she was the only one keeping him up. Sure there was Goten, a boy he had promised so long ago to protect. But Videl was different; Goten was born into a family of saiyans, who were all used to this kind of thing.

As a little toddler, Goten had been told many stories about past adventures. Mainly his fathers. As that sentence circled his mind, Gohan growled, suddenly irritating the yellow skinned wizard standing in front of him. But he soon ignored it, along with the wizard's growling, and continued with his reasoning.

But Videl had been dragged into the whole mess, thanks to him. Suddenly he was filled with regret for ever getting to know her, she didn't deserve this.

"Well?" Babidi asked, breaking the demi-saiyan out of his thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Gohan answered with the seven words Babidi lacked the patience to hear, "I don't know what you're talking about…"

Babidi's eyes widened, and a defending screech pounded through the air, followed by a sharp mental pain to the boy's mind. "WHAT?"

The boy droped to one knee, one hand tangled in his unruly saiyan hair while the other desperately tried to keep him from falling towards the ground anymore than he already had. With one eye clenched tightly shut, he whispered, "I'm sorry…"

Babidi cut off the small attack, and Gohan let out a sigh of relief. He turned around, now facing Buu. With his eyes trained on the pink monster created by his very own father, he smirked. "Your protecting them… aren't you Gohan?"

Gohan looks away, focusing on a small rock in the distance. He seriously didn't want to lie to the wizard he only knew as master, so he settled for something in between. He sighed regrettably, "Maybe I am." He was torn.

So that finalized it for the little wizard, Gohan was holding back. "Maybe." Babidi whispered, large eyes rolling around in their sockets, as though looking for answers.

A stone was plucked from the ground, and desperately squeezed by the tortured demi-saiyan. He felt that at any moment he would blurt out the truth, tell Babidi all he knew. But Videl… and Goten… and Mother… he had to hang in there, for them.

"_Don't let Babidi do this to you Gohan!"_

That voice silently rang through his ears, and the stone was crushed beneath his grip in an instant. "Not for him!" Gohan growled under his breath, just quiet enough for Babidi wouldn't hear him.

A splash of rebellion overcame him, and he was welcomed with the desire to go against those wishes, to let Babidi do this to him. Gohan's mouth opened, and one word spilled out before Babidi interrupted him, "The-"

"That girl! …Videl" Gohan's mouth snapped shut, and his mind was filled with thoughts of Videl. He was brought back to his senses within the second. "I really doubt you could care less about the others."

Yes, during their little adventure, Babidi had fed himself little tidbits of Gohan's thoughts. He knew all about Videl, Hercule Satan's daughter, and how she was on the boy's mind a lot. Call it obsession on Gohan's behalf, but every time he searched the kid's mind, that name would come up at least once, even if it was sometimes just a word echoing in the background.

"No!" Gohan yelled. Babidi jumped back, surprised the boy would deny that, "I have no need for such distractions…" Gohan couldn't believe he had just said that, and he knew he didn't truly believe. His eyes drifted up, and he was suddenly locked in Babidi's stare. A planning glint shone in those green eyes, causing Gohan to blink in disbelief. Just that one glance concluded his fears that Babidi didn't believe what he had just said true either.

He growled, wanting to prove desperately to his master, Videl wasn't a weakness of his. She was just another human. But that wasn't true… it would never be. Still, he needed Babidi to trust him, and if that meant betraying Videl, well so be it. It would all be worked out in the end, hopefully.

"The Lookout." He mumbled, head now in his hands.

Babidi's face lit up, and he calmly walked over to him, wanting to know if he had heard right, "What did you say, boy?"

"The Lookout." Gohan said again.

The little wizard tapped his chin in thought, "I don't think I've ever heard of this 'Lookout' before." He turned to Buu, "What about you Buu?"

"Nuh-Uh!" The monster replied, childish grin still in place.

"So where is it?" He demanded in a low voice, warning Gohan that if he didn't answer, there would be consequences. The wizard was just hoping that Gohan was still willing to give up more information. He could tell the boy wasn't used to betraying his 'friends'.

The boy looked up at him, eyes slightly wet with tears, and began to tell him where it was with a rather quaky voice. "It's… a place… high above us…" He began, eye contact now lost from Babidi's rolling pupils.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 25 August 2005 – 3108 words**

Yeah, I know, Goten and Goku shared a very fluffy father/son moment in that chapter, but hey, I'm proud of it. You can call Goku OOC if you want, I don't mind, but I seriously don't think he was… that much.

And I'm aware of the fact that Goku didn't show the boys that fusion technique until after he fought Buu, but I didn't really know what else to do with them. It doesn't really change much; just that Goku will be able to teach them a little more about the fusion than he did in the series.

Also, if anyone thinks I wrote the fusion technique wrong, please tell me, because really I just recited the steps from memory.


	19. Suprise after Suprise

**Chapter Nineteen – Surprises**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: All I own is the plot of this story…

Review Replies 

**Shadow Dreamer 27**: Well you'll find out in this chapter!

**LauraNeat0**: Yeah, I always like to go back on my chapters and see how long it was before I updated. (I tell you, the difference in dates between Chapter Sixteen and Seventeen is quite shocking!)

And as for the whole _Gohan slipping into the darkness until he doesn't even think he can get out himself_, well, I'll see how it goes, but that may take a bit of writing talent to pull off. This is Gohan we're talking about.

**Lady Kagome84**: _Thank goodness it's just a fanfic_… You got that right!

**White Wolf**: As much as your opinion is appreciated, Goku and Gohan will fight again in the next chapter (Or the one after that, I havn't quite desided yet). But that's only to get things started before the real Gohan Vs. Whoever battles begin. Just to let you know. (It won't be much I assure you!)

**MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**, **darksupersaiyan**, **dfd** and** seafr **reviewed as well as the above four, thanks you guys!

* * *

"Goku…" Piccolo's eyes narrowed on the ground as the namek broke the news to Goku, "That dance is kind of stupid." He hesitated, "Don't you think?"

"Come on, Piccolo!" The earth-raised saiyan gave him a little nudge, along with a wink, "It's not that bad!"

The namekian couldn't help but roll his eyes; he doubted even Goku believed that. But it wasn't something to stress about. So the dance was stupid, if it did what Goku said, it would be a great tactic to use when the final battle came. Perhaps the only plan they had at the moment.

"Okay, Piccolo!" Goku's voice chimed through his large, sensitive ears, "Ready to show the boy's how this is done?"

Piccolo's eyes widened, and he let out a gasp. He heard a snicker, no doubt coming from Trunks, and an evident blush stretched across his face. His hands clasped together, "…Okay!" The word practically jumped out his mouth, while the purple blush darkened.

Goku widely grinned, and gave the namek a strong pat on the back. "Great!" He took a few steps away from the Piccolo. "Ready?" He asked.

Piccolo hesitated, but managed a nod. At that signal, two sets of arms flew to opposite sides. They moved three steps towards each other, the word "FU…" floated through the air. Another action, as instructed by Goku earlier, was used, and soon the two screamed, "…SION!…" The boys watched, holding back laughs, as both namek and saiyan bent into the middle and connected their fingers, "…HA!" They shouted.

Nothing happened. The boy's blinked.

Trunks' mouth curved into a smile, and he burst out laughing. _That was even funnier the second time! _His mind practically screamed, laughing just as hard as he was on the outside. Goten soon followed the older demi-saiyan's example, and both were found rolling around on the floor in their laughter.

Goku stared blankly, not quite understanding their reaction. "Uh…" Was there really something wrong with the fusion? Goku just couldn't put his finger on what it was. His face settled into a sympathetic smile, "Anything wrong, boys?" He asked, thinking that something else could be the cause of their hysterical laughter.

Goten and Trunks ignored him. A vein throbbed darkly on Piccolo's forehead. He stared at the boy's long and hard, as through trying to make them disappear, or kill them perhaps, with his angry glare. "ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?" He exploded, "THIS COULD DESIDE THE FATE OF THE WORLD AND YOU TWO ARE PRACTICALLY LAUGHING YOUR HEADS OFF!"

And just like that, their laughing fit stopped. Piccolo smirked, satisfied with their reaction. "Good…" His tone was deadly, warning them not to mess with him more than once, "NOW GET UP!"

It was an amazing sight, both quickly scrambled to their feet in less than a second. Their eyes were focused on Piccolo, and they looked ready to obey any command he would throw at them. All signs of their previous laughing fit had vanished. No reddened cheeks, no left over smirks.

Goku nervously laughed, quite startled by Piccolo's commanding outburst. "Okay then…" His voice trailed off as he took a quick glance at the boy's. "You want to have a little attempt, boys?"

First, they didn't reply, but when Piccolo gave them a scowl, both frantically nodded. They moved away from each other, and started to recite what the two grown-ups had just done only a few seconds before. "FU…SION…HA!" They chanted together. They soon moved away from each other, ready for a progress report.

"That was… okay…" Goku commented, "But it needs to be absolutely perfect!" His arms folded over his chest, deciding to let the practise of the fusion dance rest for a while, "There are other things to the fusion technique… like getting your power levels exactly the same." He stretched out a finger to point at the two, "Now power up to super saiyan."

Goten and Trunks nodded, and instantly burst into the legendary golden warrior. Powerful aurous flickered around them, causing their strong golden hair to sway around wildly. They weren't as strong as Gohan's when he first transformed into a super saiyan. But then again, they were half his age at that time.

"Great!" Goku cheerfully smiled at their glowing forms. His eyes then focused on Trunks, "Trunks, you need to lower your power level a bit. Make it even with Goten's"

Greenish-blue eyes turned to Goten, and Trunks frowned, "Why do I have to power down? Why can't Goten just power up?"

Goten turned to the older chibi, "I don't think I can raise my power higher than it is already…"

Trunks pouted, he didn't like using less power than he contained, but he reluctantly lowered it. His energy barrier died down a little bit, equal to Goten's.

Goku smiled, giving them the A-Okay sign, "Perfect! Now power back down."

The boys did as they were told.

"And power back up. Trunks, make sure your power level matches Goten's again."

They nodded, and again erupted in flowing golden flames.

Goku was about to comment the boy's on their second power up's succession, but a familiar power level tickled the tip of his censors. He swung around, and couldn't believe whom he saw.

There, standing in all his saiyan glory, was Vegeta.

He looked a lot better than the last time anyone saw him. Their wasn't a single rip in his clothing, his body didn't hold any scratches or scrapes, and he still had that smug smirk pasted on his face. He was the same old Vegeta.

The lookout was silent as all eyes landed on the newcomer. It was only broken when Trunks' exited voice yelled, "Dad!" The lavender haired – now golden thanks to his super saiyan transformation - eight-year old was quick to run towards his father. He leaped into the older saiyan's arms, enveloping him in a family hug.

He temporarily cringed. It wasn't a reaction the saiyan prince was expecting.

At first, Vegeta was slow to react, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around the boy. It wasn't something the man was used to doing, and he had only done it one other time in his lifetime, but he managed to adjust.

Bulma, just as excited as her son to see her husband, Vegeta, rushed over to the two. But she didn't hug Vegeta, as much as she wanted to. She didn't want to disrupt such a sweet father/son moment. And one of her smart, sarcastic comments weren't necessary here either. Instead, she gave the man a quick welcoming kiss on the cheek and backed away from the two.

Trunks slowly hopped off his father, letting his super saiyan state slip as well. Bulma found this her chance to comment.

"It's good to know that wish worked for you, Vegeta."

The saiyan prince gave her a weird look, "What do you mean, woman?" He asked.

"Well," She began, tapping her chin in thought, "We wished on the dragonballs for everyone who'd been killed since this morning's world martial arts tournament back to life." Her finger drifted lazily over to Yamcha, remembering he had added something to that particular wish, "Except for the really bad people." She quoted.

Vegeta frowned as Kakarot walked over to him, placing a strong hand on the shorter saiyan's shoulder. "Looks like your one of the good guys now!" His happy go-lucky voice chimed.

His eyes widened, "A good guy…" He repeated, letting it sink in.

"Yeah!" Kakarot exclaimed.

Suddenly, all heads – With the exception of Bulma and Videl - jerked up as two powerful power levels were felt. One was surging with magical energy. No doubt Babidi, Buu and… Gohan. It was obvious they were heading right towards the lookout, and travelling as fast as they could. They would be there any minute.

"Impossible!" Vegeta growled, clenching his fists together, "How could they have followed me? I made sure my power level was as low as possible! There is just no way!"

Goku's eyes widened as a possibility dawned on him. Could it have been Gohan? After so long, had the boy finally given up and told that horrible wizard where they were? "You don't think…" His eyes shifted over to Vegeta, looking for reassurance.

"Traitor!" The oldest saiyan snarled, ki flickering with anger.

Goku felt his knees fail, but he managed to stay standing. _Traitor… Traitor… Traitor… _That word stung at his mind, echoing with the same venomous tone Vegeta had used only moments before. "No…" He whispered, not letting his gaze leave the cold, white ground.

Goku swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling those three power levels inch closer and closer towards their position, "It doesn't matter!" He heard himself yell to the group, perhaps a little bit louder than he should have. There would be time to ponder the Gohan issue later. Right now… "Everyone needs to hide! We don't know what would happen if Babidi got his hands on Piccolo or the boys!"

"I'll hold them off." His eyes travelled over to the edge of the lookout. Any minute now, his son would arrive; he needed to be ready. "Hopefully they'll leave thinking I'm the only one here…" Not looking at the older saiyan, he said, "Vegeta, you should go with them."

Instead of Vegeta insisting he would fight, the saiyan did the unexpected… "Very well, Kakarot." He agreed. "I won't intervene." Vegeta started to walk away, signalling for the others to follow. They did. Except for Goten, who had to ask his father one more thing.

"Your not going to fight my big brother, are you?" Goten asked, little hands tugging at Goku's gi. "You won't hurt him, will you?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry Goten, but it might just come to that…"

Goku's youngest son simply stood there. Silent. He had nothing more to say. Instead, the heart gripping possibility that his brother could die just to save the universe overcame him, and he couldn't help but let a soft stream of salt water tears slip down his red and puffy cheeks.

Goku looked away, not wanting to see his son like that. "You better go." He spoke softly.

Hesitantly, Goten nodded, and ran off after Vegeta. Goku slowly turned to watch them go, and couldn't help but reflect on how much Vegeta had changed a lot since their fights with Cell and the Androids seven years ago. Strangely enough, the saiyan prince had settled down, started a family. And although the man wouldn't admit it, he truly and honestly enjoyed it.

Before they all disappeared into the building, Vegeta turned towards him, what he said surprised Goku, "I can see this is personal." And with that, he disappeared.

Goku's eyes widened. _Personal? _It took him a few seconds to let that word process through his head,_ Perhaps it is._

……………………………

Sharp flashes of wind whipped away at his yellow, scaly skin, and his arms instantly flew up to protect his face. He didn't know why he had to endure it, but when travelling on the back of the most powerful creature in the known universe, you had to make sacrifices.

Babidi had juggled around the idea of travelling on Gohan's back, but seriously, there wasn't enough leg room, nothing to hold onto either, while Buu had that purple flowing cape. He couldn't quite understand why his father had given him such a childish accessory. He was sure the man was a lot more serious than what came out in his most powerful creation ever.

But his father's reason for creating a monstrosity such as Majin Buu was truly of no interest to him. Well maybe it was a little, but he had more important things to think about. Like what he would do to those two brats and that worthless namekian. Oh wouldn't it be of such wonderfully sickening pleasure if Gohan, the one they all held dear to their hearts, would kill them as if they meant nothing to him. He erupted in laughter at that idea.

_Oh that would be wonderful!_

Emotional torture was something quite fun to play with after all.

What would Buu do during this though? Perhaps destroy the rest of them? They had gotten on his nerves one way or another that day. So that settled it, he had to all planned out in his head, how each of them would meet their demise and the satisfaction it would bring them all. But what about after that, where would he go from there?

When it came to the earth, there were two choices, destroy it, or take it over. What was the point in taking it over if no one lived there, perhaps they could spare a few earthlings. Hey, it was a thought. But no, killing them would be much more fun. He would still save a few other planets through; surly it would get a bit boring if the universe was completely deserted.

But he was getting too ahead of himself, those choices would be made when the time came. They hadn't even beaten the idiots sitting on their cosy lookout yet, while they tried to avoid doom.

_They might not even know we're coming_, Babidi chuckled at that thought, _Oh won't they be in for a surprise!_

Right then and there, Babidi decided that he was having a wonderful day, everything was falling into place and they were mere minutes away from eliminating the only threat they had in the universe. According to Gohan's memories, they were supposed to be the strongest fighters in the universe, next to Majin Buu of course.

Once they were gone, it would all be a cakewalk. Not that it already wasn't, but that would make it even easier. But there was the problem of the boy's father, who had put up a good fight last time, and had almost beaten the boy. You could say they were evenly matched. There was also the fear that he was holding back for the sake of his son, and was actually much more powerful than he let on. But after battling Buu, Gohan's power level had increased quite dramatically; surly he could wipe the floor with that man now. He would truly be a challenge to those surviving nitwits.

Oh it was just too exciting, and Babidi found himself digging his sharp heals into Buu's chubby sides, "Faster, Majin Buu!" He yelled, letting a loud trail of maniacal laughter float through the open air. "Faster!" The monster sped up, much to the delight of the demented little wizard.

Gohan watched him, a look of abnormal disgust soaked into his features. He couldn't help but ask himself, why did he even listen to the stupid wizard? He just wanted to be alone, to ditch Babidi and his childish monster, and do things his own way. But something was holding him back.

He didn't know what it was, and perhaps he would never know, but now was not the time to worry. He was headed to the lookout after all, where his former family and friends were waiting for him, waiting for their doom.

He didn't think he could face them just yet, especially Videl. She probably didn't even know what was going on, and quite frankly, he didn't want her to know. The same was felt for Goten, he was his little brother, and he knew how painful it would be for him to see him like this.

Gohan swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He suddenly found himself frightened, they hated him, and he didn't want to see them again. They would hate him even more after this.

His eyes narrowed, what did he care what they thought. He forced an evil grin to appear on his face, they deserved what was coming to them. He didn't actually know if that was really a true statement to him, but right now, it was all he wanted to hear.

It wasn't long before the lookout came into view. A shiver travelled through Gohan's spine, he wasn't ready for this. But there was no stopping it now, he would just have to take anything that would happen from that point, and he feared the worst.

But soon, they all managed to reach the edge of the lookout, and landed on the hard, white tiles. The sight that greeted them was Goku, standing there as though he was ready for anything, and looking like he didn't expect anything less.

"Ah! Goku!" Babidi chuckled, "So nice to finally meet the man who ruined Gohan's life!" He knew he was slightly stretching the truth by saying that, but he truly loved to play mind games with the people around him.

Goku growled, not wanting to believe what Babidi had just said. He took a quick glance at Gohan, not knowing what to expect. The boy stared at him with those dark, cold eyes.

Goku couldn't help but wince. _He looks about ready to kill me._

**To be continued…**

**Posted 5 September 2005 – 2830 words**

Well that's another chapter out, I think it came out okay. And I kind of left you with a cliffhanger there! Heh… Finally, the big, personal, dramatic battles will be starting in the next chapter. I'll warn you now though, Gohan and Goku WILL fight again This concerning White Wolf's review but it won't be much. Just to kind of lead to the really important battles against Vegeta, Goten etc. So yeah…

Also, in case nobody noticed, **I rewrote Chapter one**. Nothing really changed, so there is no real need to read it. I just thought I could get more readers if the writing style was good the whole way through. I felt that my full potential wasn't truly spent on that one. Review it if you want.


	20. The Hating Game

**Chapter Twenty – The Hating Game/The Third Ascension**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gohan, or Goku, or Vegeta, or Goten, or Trunks, or Bulma, or Master Roshi, or… well you get my point.

Review Replies 

**Lady Kagome84**: It's great to know you re-read the first chapter, because I don't think many other people did. But if they did, they sure didn't tell me about it! And I'd never kill Gohan; he's my favourite character! If I ever did kill Gohan, it would only be because he had something really important to do in 'Other World'.

**Satan'stoasterstrudel**: Thanks! I don't think anyone has complemented me on my spelling before, so again… Thanks for that!

**MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**: Wow… I'm not quite sure if I understand all that, but it sure is helpful! I was just wondering though, how did you come up with all those numbers?

**LauraNeatO**: Oh boy, you really think so? (I should say more, but I'm at a lost for words… (THANKS!)) Anyway, as for your constructive criticism, you're right, it doesn't really sound right. I was a bit hesitant to post that last part, but I decided to leave it for the reviewers to decide. So I got rid of it, as it's easily fixed, now the chapter is absolutely perfect!

**BlackGravity**: Crap, your right! I wish I could do something about that, but alas, Vegeta was brought back five chapters ago, I can't do anything about it now. But thanks for telling me that anyway! Always feel free to point out any plot holes in my story! It's always appreciated!

I need to thank **Shadow Dreamer 27**, **darksupersaiyan**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **dfd **and **Zoah** for taking the time to review as well.

* * *

All eyes widened as three figures landed on the lookout. For the first time, many of them finally saw what had become of their beloved Gohan. Once so innocent, now so deadly, it was enough to turn your skin cold.

Bulma shivered, running her long, slender fingers along the goose bumps appearing on her soft arms. She was just thankful Chichi wasn't here to see him; she would have fainted within the second. Her eyes scanned their hiding place, where was Chichi anyway?

Her mouth opened to speak, but it snapped shut when a breath of visible air escaped her lips, indicating how cold it truly was. She shivered again, and forgot all about her friend. She was sure Chichi was fine, no matter where she was.

Speaking of Chichi… Her bright blue eyes drifted over to her best friend's youngest son, Goten. He seemed to be taking Gohan's new transformation the hardest, as he looked close to tears. She felt like comforting the boy, but decided against it, he would be okay.

But still, Goten loved Gohan more than anything. She knew she would have been in a state much worse than Goten's if Vegeta had been the one to be taken over, or even Trunks. But she herself was very close to Gohan, being her best friend's son and all, but she managed to keep her chin up about the whole situation. Even though it was eating away at her.

She quickly looked over to Videl, desperately clinging to a pillar beside her. Bulma watched as Videl's strong fist slammed into the cement of the pillar, causing her hand to turn a light shade of red. But Hercule Satan's daughter didn't even flinch; she stayed in the same staring position, as though nothing had happened. She was quite a strong teenager.

Bulma bit her lip, and let her eyes return to the three newcomers standing at the edge of the lookout. She stared, wondering what was happening. From what she could see, they were exchanging dialogue. Because she didn't have super saiyan hearing like her husband or son, she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Do you think Goku will be okay?" She heard herself ask out of the blue. Perhaps it was because they had been silent for so long, that she had had the need to speak.

A few heads wiped around, a little surprised at the new conversation. But she wasn't answered; and everybody went back to looking down at the warriors getting ready to fight with every fibre of their being. Not even Vegeta answered her, and surly he had the best idea of what was going on.

She sighed. Her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes returned to looking down at them. Perhaps nobody really knew the result of this battle. Goku hadn't been on earth long enough for anybody to know how much he had improved since Cell. And even though they already knew how strong Gohan was, this weird good-to-evil transformation had probably made the poor boy even stronger than he originally was.

Her soft, creamy hand came up to wipe away a few strands of blue hair. As she stared down at Goku, Gohan and the others once again, she whispered into the cold wind, "I just hope they _both _come out of this alive…"

……………………………

A silence hung in the air, one welcomed with the same icy wind that plagued the people watching high above. Nothing dared to interrupt the staring contest between father and son, not even Buu, the most childish of them all.

Goku's lips parted slightly, and he took in a deep breath, eyes still locked with his son's. He didn't feel right about this, Gohan was his own flesh and blood. Fighting him would be hard to do, but he had done it before, only a few hours ago they were going head to head in a battle to the death.

But the battle about to take place just felt different. It would be more intense, and Gohan surged with even more evil energy than he had in that last battle. Plus, Gohan was stronger now, so it meant no holding back, no matter how much he wanted to.

He sighed, knowing he would regret every second of their battle. "Gohan…" His voice was in a soft whisper, just loud enough for Gohan – the one it was directed at - to hear.

Gohan's eyes narrowed. He bared his teeth in anger, and he spat into the rushing winds, "_Father_!" Every last bit of venom Gohan could muster was thrown into that one word. To Gohan - so tortured with memories always flashing back to the Cell Games - that word held absolutely no meaning.

The boy's ki grew higher, and he was surrounded with a soft wind of golden energy. It radiated into the air, causing the area around them to brighten up. A flicker of strange red energy sparked around here and there, one none of them - not even Gohan himself - was familiar with.

Goku watched as it zipped around his son. He was too lost in his thoughts to really follow it. _You have to give it your all…_ A voice told him, one he knew belonged to him. _If you don't all hope will be lost, and they will continue to destroy the planet. You love your son; but this is the fate of the world we're talking about._

Goku sighed, knowing that was the attitude that had made Gohan the monster standing before him. He had done what was best for the world, not Gohan, many times before.

There had to be another way to settle everything, but Goku couldn't think of anything. He knew the boy didn't want to just talk – as Videl's plan had been. Gohan wanted action. Gohan wanted to kill his father, no matter what the cost.

And another silence covered them, as Goku tried desperately to think of what to do. He would have to fight Gohan, while trying to get through to him at the same time, it would be a hard task, and one Goku didn't believe he could do.

But save from his plan to free the boy, he needed one to still be a challenge to him. He could feel Gohan's energy slowly rise as each second passed, and could tell he wouldn't be very easy to beat this time around. Perhaps the only way would be to use his new technique, the one he had acquired in other world.

He sighed, and surrounded himself in light blue energy, before exploding in a golden light. It was quite dim, as through a dying out light bulb had been activated. The light generated from his new level died down, and he was seen in his first Super Saiyan level.

"I know you know all about the saiyan transformations, Gohan…" His voice trailed off as his turquoise eyes softened slightly, lost in a memory of Gohan's first transformation in the room of spirit and time. Soon it was over, and he returned to talking to his son, "But I feel I should run them through you again… Just to put emphasis on what I'm about to do."

Gohan's eyes glowed with interest as he tried to figure out what his _father_ was doing. Goku was never one to do something stupid in battle, so Gohan was forced to wonder what the earth-raised saiyan was trying to prove. Gohan knew both Super Saiyan transformations like the back of his hand. _What is he trying to put emphasis on_?

From beside him, Babidi growled impatiently, "We don't need to see you show off your pathetic transformation!" His arms crossed angrily over his chest and his foot began to tap against the white tiled ground, "Besides, we all know how they work." He smirked, "Your son easily supplied me with that information."

Goku's eyes flickered over to the wizard, who he suddenly felt like strangling the life out of. He hated it when Babidi talked about his son like that. He acted as though he owned the boy. He would rather be killed by his own son than believe that. With another sigh, he turned back to Gohan to finish his explanation.

"This is a normal Super Saiyan. And this…" He raised his power, causing bolts of strong blue energy to appear surging around him. His hair stood on end, completing the transformation, "…Is an ascended Super Saiyan - or Super Saiyan two – whichever you wish to call it." His eyes meet with Gohan's once more, "But I'm sure you know all about this one, since you were the one to first reach it!" _And_ _I_'_m so proud of you for that_. His mind finished.

With a loud, air devouring breath, he bent over, and squeezed his arms tightly to his sides. "This is the level beyond it!" He screamed. He was still uncertain if his new Super Saiyan level would last very long in the living realm, but he had to give it a go.

Feeling his power slowly pass the barrier of super saiyan two, he clenched his fists to his sides. His forehead pulsed, stress marks appearing on his now frighteningly pained face. He started to breathe heavily, reaching inside himself to find that almost unreachable level of power. It was unlike any transformation he had ever used, and it didn't take anger to reach – that made it original. It could very well be the true Super Saiyan level.

His teeth tightened together as he held in a rugged breath. He felt his forehead bulge, along with the muscles lining his arms. Another wave of unbearable energy hit him as his power skyrocketed even more. He threw his head back, and screamed at the top of his lungs, welcoming the rush of power with open arms.

The last few seconds of the painful transformation neared, and the rest of his muscles bulged, almost ripping the orange and blue material of his gi. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, his hair began to grow down his shoulders, ending just below his knees in a fiery mess of golden locks. His eyebrows disappeared, and his pupils glowed a brand new colour. They were a lighter shade of green now, almost blue.

Gohan's eye widened. A new transformation sat in front of him, and Gohan felt his blood boil. His father had been holding back on him, he hadn't given it his all-last time. How dare he do such a thing, he had been straining to block every punch the man had thrown at him earlier that day, only to find out he was stronger than that.

Gohan's hair spiked, and he was surrounded by dark, golden energy. Red bolts flickered around him, instead of the usual blue. He bared his sharp, saiyan teeth in anger. "You were holding back on me!" He snarled.

"Gohan, please," His face softened from the hard look the third ascension seemed to give him, "It was untested, I didn't know if my body could take it!"

Gohan's eyes narrowed, and he raised his power even higher, "What makes you think you can handle it now?" He asked, still radiating with anger.

The boy didn't let him answer, and shot forward, fists blazing with hot, red ki. He rammed a fist into his father's abdomen, purposely digging the appendage into the deeps of his stomach. Goku coughed as he bent forward, feeling a trickle of blood tickle the back of his tongue.

"Don't hold back on me!" He growled, pulling his fist free and sending another one towards Goku's face.

He smirked as his father flew back, slightly surprised at the amount of energy he was able to generate, and he still had more. He folded his arms over his chest as he waited for his father to get up.

Goku slowly lifted himself to his feet; quickly returning the hardening gaze his son was giving him. He felt his face, touching a small dab of blood. "I didn't know he could punch that hard…" Goku whispered to himself, making sure his son couldn't hear. _I have to be more careful._

"Don't expect this to be easy!" He heard his son yell.

A pant left Goku's parted lips, as he tried desperately to raise his power even more. Then he disappeared in a blaze of speed, appearing behind Gohan and sending a powerful kick into Gohan's side. Before Gohan was sent flying, Goku grabbed his arm, and threw him into the air.

A strong amount of energy gathered in Goku's palms. And with a scream, a beam of light erupted from his raised hands, and started a collision course right for Gohan. The boy was quick to dodge it, but barely managed it. He felt the heat of it burn at his skin as it flew passed him.

Gohan dived back down to the lookout, and swung a leg out. Catching Goku's chest with his Majin booted foot.

Goku exploded in energy as, again, he desperately tried to raise his power level. He grabbed the foot before it could dig into his flesh, and slammed Gohan into the ground. Sharp pieces of tattered cement flew into the air as he made contact. Gohan coughed up a slip of blood, and it landed at Goku's feet.

"Better!" He coughed again, and more blood and saliva sailed through the air. "But you'll have to try harder than that!"

His feet swung out from under him, and tried desperately to grab his father's own feet. But they sailed harmlessly through the space where Goku had once been. A flicker of ki was felt above him, and Gohan had only a few seconds to roll out of the way.

Cement and debris flew everywhere as Goku's fist made contact with the ground. A slight snapping sound was heard as he dug deeper, showing Gohan just how strongly he was willing to fight. Goku's sharp, narrowed eyes turned to Gohan. His ki radiated through the air.

…and another punch was thrown.

Gohan flipped over the attack, and sent his own punch right at Goku's flowing, golden locks. His hand grasped them, and he pulled the man back. Goku let out a terrified yep as he felt his hair being pulled by its roots. Gohan smirked, pulling the man even closer until his cold, deadly breath tickled the man's ear.

"I hate you."

Those words echoed through Goku's mind, "What…?" He stammered, no longer pulling for Gohan to let him go. He hung lifelessly in his sons grip, trying to find out if he had heard right.

"I said…" For a second, one split second, Gohan's eyes glowed a dark, menacing red, "I _hate_ you!"

His voice tore through the air, and the world froze as two fists slammed into Goku's head. It moved in slow motion for him. He didn't try for one second to stop himself. To hear your own son say they hate you was the hardest blow a father could take. And the worst part was, he knew it was true. His own son, his own flesh and blood, hated him.

And as Goku's body crashed through the awaiting ground, something snapped in him. He screamed as loud as he could as his power skyrocketed to new heights. Within the second, he was floating next to Gohan, a kick aimed for the boy's chest.

"No you don't!" He screamed, letting the foot go. The tip of his shoe dug into the bowls of the boy's stomach as he was pushed backwards.

White ki gathered on Goku's middle fingertip as he let loose beam after beam of flaming white energy. They all hit Gohan at full force, tearing at his awaiting skin as though it was nothing. His body fell from the sky, totally paralysed as pain embraced him.

But at the last second, he stopped himself in mid air, hanging upside down. He let out a yell, and let his energy rise even more. As each second passed, his father was becoming harder and harder to beat. He had to take things up a notch, Goku was getting mad.

He flipped back onto his feet, only to be met with the sight of another million little beams of ki heading straight for him. He flipped backwards a few more times as they followed him along the ground, only stopping when he neared the building.

Gohan took this momentary cease-fire to fling himself back into the air where his father awaited him, ready to start fighting again. Gohan's lips parted as a small trickle of blood slipped down his grazed chin. The boy smirked, returning Goku's scowl.

Gohan's head flew back, letting out a chain of maniacal laughter as his palms filled with searing hot energy, "Oh, but I do hate you, Goku." He split his hands apart, slowly ripping one ki blast into two just as big as the first, "Just as much as you hate me!"

Goku shot forward, quickly wrapping his palms around Gohan's charged wrists, "I don't hate you, Gohan!" He shouted in desperation, watching as the energy gathered in Gohan's hands grew larger.

"_Liar_!" The boy sneered, letting the energy loose.

It slammed into Goku's chest, forcing the earth raised saiyan to let go of his son. Goku screamed as it cut through his gi, and gasped when two clenched fists rammed into his golden head. He shot back towards the ground, flipping just in time to land harmlessly on the lookout's surface.

He looked up into the air, watching as Gohan raised his hand to his head and started to chant the words of one of the boy's favourite moves. "Masenko…" Golden energy began to form, matching the colour of the energy circling around him perfectly. But again, another spark of red energy seemed to join the awry of golden. The colours seemed to fuse in the ball, turning it a completely new colour. Gohan paid no mind to that as he threw it towards Goku. "HAAAAAAAA!"

Goku's hands flew in front of his face, barely catching the blast before it pounded full force into his body. The pure power of it, ripping away at his open palms, causing Goku to wince. The heels of his feet dug into the ground below him as he was overpowered. One hand moved away from the energy and landed in two fingers on his forehead.

"Sorry Dende," Goku whispered, "But this will defiantly do permanent damage to the lookout." And with that, he disappeared from under the beam, and appeared above Gohan.

He froze for a second as he watched the energy easily slice through the hard cement of the lookout. Goku was surprised he had been able to survive it. But with some quick thinking he had, and that was the important part.

Smoke rose up from the ground as the impact from the Masenko took affect. Shards of sharp broken chips flew up at them, and both father and son were quick to fire a few blasts in order to destroy it all. But even with the deadly shards already incinerated, the smoke refused to let them see an inch beyond their face. So Goku never even knew what happened before, a golden head collided with his stomach.

It threw him back, and caused him to crash into the temple where all his friends lay. He let out a scream as sharp rocks cut harshly into his back, drawing blood. He pulled away from the building, and tilted his head back. The entire back of his shirt had disappeared, causing the front of it to blow harmlessly in the air. That would pose a problem, so he ripped it from his body.

The orange material floated harmlessly towards the ground, leaving only Goku's blue undershirt to cloth his top half.

He moved into a fighting stance as he waited for Gohan's next attack.

His feet shifted slightly – pulling his body along - as Gohan threw a punch at the area Goku had once been. He grabbed onto the fist moving slowly to the side of him, and flung the person attached to the appendage into the building beside him. Both hands still clung desperately to Gohan's arm.

"I don't hate you, Gohan!" He yelled, pulling the teenager away from the building. "You're my son!"

Again, Gohan's eyes glowed a dark red as the word 'son' floated through the air. With a snap, he twisted harsly out of his father's grip and quickly wrapped a powerful hand around the man's neck. "Just _shut up_!" He screamed, tightening his already deadly grip. He felt Goku's nails dig into his wrist as his father tried to escape his hold. "I am not your son!" His eyes narrowed as he bared his sharp saiyan teeth, "Don't _ever_ call me that!"

Goku's mouth opened to say something, but all he managed to squeeze from his tightening lungs was a quiet wheezing sound. He had to act quickly if he was going to survive, but looking into Gohan's hard, turquoise eyes stopped any line of action he had planned.

Those pupils burned into his very soul with the intensity of one thousand suns. As he felt himself slowly drift into unconsciousness, all he could think about was how Gohan was about to kill him without mercy, without thought. And the worst part was, he was already dead, if he were to die again, that would be it. He wouldn't exist in either realm. He would never see his son again.

"Gohan… please…" His eyes clenched shut, "You don't want to do this…" His grip around Gohan's hand loosened as he felt himself slip away.

Goku's eyes widened in disbelief as his son's fingers parted from his throat. He dropped a few feet from where he once hung. He rubbed his neck softly as he gave his son a smile. He wasn't quite sure why the teenager had let him go, but he was grateful that he had.

"Thank you, Gohan…" He breathed, letting the much needed oxygen return to his lungs.

A punch to the face sent Goku reeling back. Gohan scowled in anger, wondering why he had freed his father. The man had been dangling in his grip, just waiting to die. It had been the perfect opportunity to finally kill him, and he had simply let it pass. He had already done that once earlier that day, saved his life, why had he repeated the performance? It was stupid to!

With a scream of uncontrollable anger, he shot after his falling father, only one thought racing through his head…

_I won't let it happen again!_

**To be continued…**

**Posted 12 September 2005 – 3783 words**

There you go, another quick update! And this is chapter twenty too! That's quite a lot of chapters so far! I don't even know how long this story will be in the end, as I haven't really thought about. I can tell it's going to be long though (Since Super Buu hasn't even been introduced yet)!

I'm planning on finishing this at the tournament where they first met Uub. But I'm still wondering if he should be in this story… Goku left his family again because of Buu's reincarnation in the series, so I'll just leave it up to you reviewers!

Also, if this story is ever to have a sequel, it will probably be put in that ten-year gap (From the death of Buu to the part where Gohan's daughter is introduced).

Speaking of reviews, I got 10 reviews for chapter nineteen, which is my record at the moment. I know some of you probably get way more reviews on your stories and think that isn't much, but let me tell you; it is to me.

And I know it's kind of weird how I did the first scene of this chapter in Bulma's POV, but it just seemed to flow that way. It also came out a little different than I had planned, but I'm proud of it!

One more thing! I know that Goku should probably be stronger than Gohan, but with Gohan's hidden power and uncontrollable anger, he would still be a challenge!


	21. Intervention

**Chapter Twenty One – Intervention**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Dragonball Z, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction like this one, now would I?

Review Replies 

**MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**: Okay, I understand it all completely. Hopefully I'll be able to apply it to any future fighting and saiyan healing!

**Dragonwarriorkeltyr**: Chapter twenty was probably my most action packed chapter yet! But I hope this one outweighs it, we'll just have to see. And as for Uub, I probably want to keep this story as close to DBZ as possible, so Buu's reincarnation may have to be in the end. I'd just have to make sure that Goku wouldn't leave with him or anything. But at the moment, I think I'll take votes, and we'll see how it all ends up!

**Lady-Kagome84**: When Gohan thought that, he meant that he wouldn't let another opportunity to kill his father pass him by.

**LauraNeatO**: I guess I just didn't want to over do it in reminders, but I'll add plenty in this chapter. I assure you.

**Ava**: Well, I do try to squeeze in a bit of humour here and there; Goten and Trunks always do wonders for that part of the story. And the romance will be here soon enough (Gohan x Videl all the way!). But I really wanted this story to be a different version of the Buu saga, and so it had to have the same elements of the real DBZ (That's what makes a remake!). To prove your point true, my favourite genres of a story are romance and comedy. But I'm happy you're still satisfied with action.

The following people were kind enough to review as well: **Darksupersaiyan**, **Shadow Dreamer 27**, **Evil Kirby,** **Saiyan Prince1** and **Lady Tsuru**.

* * *

Sparks flew all around them as both Gohan and Goku landed their punches and kicks. Occasionally, that fateful scream rocked the fighting area as a powerful attack managed to hit its target. Blood was starting to join the fray, spraying splashes of crimson liquid on the usually white pavement below the battle.

Babidi enjoyed every second of it, watching as Gohan fought with his father as the man tried desperately to pull his son back into the good side. The boy of course wasn't listening, drowned in the memories of Goku leaving him – his family and all his friends too – over and over again.

But when the wizard had witnessed Gohan, his most trusted servant, save Goku from a certain death, a nerve had snapped. Something had forced the boy to stop his strangling, and Babidi would stop at nothing to find out what it was.

But that aside, perhaps Gohan wasn't right for the job. He still had a heart, which was getting in the way. It was obvious, he didn't want to kill his father, just make him suffer, which was still pretty good, but their would be no end result. So Buu would probably have to finish Goku off, since Gohan was obviously not going to do it.

"_Gohan_!" Babidi called through his mind link with the boy, "_Stand down_!_ Buu will finish him off_!"

He could almost see the teenage minion gasp in shock, "_No_!_ I_'_ll be the one to kill him_! _This is personal_!"

"_I don_'_t care_!" Babidi scowled, arms crossing over his chest, "_You_'_ve already shown me that you don't want to kill your_ father!"

The yellow skin of his scaly little hands rubbed together as he watched Gohan and Goku jet across the sky, desperately trying to land a punch on the other. But even though Gohan was fighting his father with as much power as he could, he was still able to send his master a reply.

"_Give me a second chance_…" A growl echoed through Babidi's head, indicating how much Gohan truly wanted to finish the job himself. "_I won_'_t let it happen again_!"

The wizard pondered that option for a second, wondering if he should let Gohan continue fighting his father, or send Buu up. His patience was growing thin, but the boy seemed to really want this. It couldn't hurt.

"_Very well_." He finally answered, "_But be quick about it_! _You only have one more chance_!"

The voice that returned seemed almost happy, but too neutral to officially be called that. "_Thank you_, _Master Babidi_! _You won't regret it_!"

Babidi didn't say anything more. He just stepped back, expecting the real battle to finally begin. Gohan would hopefully not disappoint, or there would be consequences. Dire consequences.

……………………………

Goku's body swerved from left to right, his long hair flowing around him in a fussy, golden mess, as Gohan threw punch after punch at him. The boy was fighting a little more aggressively than before, as though trying to finish him off as quickly as possible. It was like he had suddenly been given a time limit of how long the battle should take.

One more punch was thrown, but Goku managed to catch it. He twisted it around, causing Gohan to flip over. He pushed the appendage into Gohan's back, trying as hard as he could to hold onto the boy.

"Gohan…" He breathed, feeling sweat drip down the sides of his face, "Why did you save me before?"

Gohan squirmed, trying to free himself, but to no avail, "What do you care?" He spat, ki starting to flare around him.

"I care because…" Gohan landed a kick to his stomach before the next words left his mouth. A small blast of ki pounded into his body, and the wind was blown right out of him.

A kick swept under him, tripping him up, before another kick slammed into his stomach. He shot towards the ground in a fiery golden gust. His body made contact, and a pained screech cut through the dusty air.

Gohan was soon standing over him, another energy blast aimed for his chest. "Why? Why do you care?" The energy twirled around in his palm, getting ready to fire.

"Because!" Goku's feet shot up, hitting Gohan square in the chest. The teenager slammed into the ground himself, "I know there's some good in you."

Gohan was quick to jump to his feet. He lifted into the air, and charged at his father. A fist flared above his head, and would have slammed into Goku's own, if he had not moved out of the way at the last second. Gohan flipped on an angle in an attempt to hit him again, but Goku was able to dodge the attack once more.

As Goku maneuvered through each shot thrown by Gohan, he felt the super saiyan three form slowly take its toll on him. It was getting harder and harder to fight. And he knew he was sweating like a pig. But he had to press onward, for the future of the earth rested on his shoulders.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't know he had been hit until he slammed into the awaiting ground. Gohan was once again standing above him. Only this time, a foot was pressed into his bleeding chest.

"What makes you think that?" Gohan asked, not sounding as angry as Goku expected, you could even say he sounded curious. "There's no good in me anymore!" He pushed as much weight as he could into his foot, pushing Goku into a self-made crater.

Slowly, Goku's hands wrapped around Gohan's foot. His eyebrow-less forehead narrowed over his eyes, and Goku took on a pained expression as he pulled Gohan's boot away from his chest. Energy gathered in his palms, and he was quick to let it loose, blowing Gohan away in a rainbow of different blues.

The teenager's body flew at least ten feet into the air, where he finally managed to stop himself. Goku slowly pulled himself out of his man-made crater, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Because you saved me!" He yelled through a smile, "You could have killed me! But you didn't!"

Gohan's pupils slowly drifted to the sky. His eyes clenched shut as he tried to shake the words out of his head. Anger radiated through the air as Gohan once again erupted in golden flame. His body suddenly dropped like a bullet from the sky, aimed right at Goku.

A surprised scream left Goku's strained throat as he quickly jumped backwards.

Even though Gohan had been travelling at unimaginable speeds when he had dropped, he landed at light as a feather on the lookouts surface. He was quick to charge forward, delivering a powerful punch across Goku's jaw.

The man flew backwards, but managed to flip back to his feet just before he slammed into the ground. Blood dripped down his chin, and landed on the lookout's pavement. A pool of the crimson liquid soon formed, tainting his boots as it rolled along the cracks in the concrete. His long hair swayed slightly as a strong wind drifted around his tired and tattered form.

"I don't know why I didn't kill you…" Gohan spoke, an unwavering gaze directed at Goku's almost-blue eyes. "But I promise you this…!" Ki flowed around him, as he charged an energy blast in his bleeding palms. "It wont happen again!" And the blast was released, setting a course right for Goku.

Goku managed to catch it, juggling around the ball of energy around in his hands. He gave Gohan that smile, which had warmed Gohan's heart for eleven years. Even though it looked so twisted on his brow-less face, Gohan paused, staring into the face he now hated so much.

"You don't want to kill me…" Goku clamped his hand around the ki tight, destroying it in his grip. Pain flared through his body as his hand was set on invisible fire, but he ignored it, smile still focused on his son.

Gohan growled, "I do…" He hissed, "I honestly do."

And with that, the boy charged forward in a glowing mess of golden ki. Red surrounded his foot as he kicked outward. Hoping to land a strike in Goku's awaiting chest. But the man caught it, clutching onto it for dear life.

"I don't believe you." He spoke calmly as he yanked the boy forward, pulling them into a nose-to-nose position.

Gohan kicked with his other foot, striking his father in the ankle. But Goku didn't budge; all he did was endure the pain as it shot through his spine. "What's so hard to believe?" The boy asked in a yell. He tried desperately to pull out of his father's grip, and only succeed when he managed to land a punch on Goku's face.

He stumbled back slightly as the surprising punch hit, "Because you're my son!" Seeing Gohan's ki rise at that word once more, he added, "Whether you like it or not!"

Cement and rubble was quick to fly into the air as Gohan's foot slammed into the tattered ground. "No!" He shook his head, "You lost the right to call me your son seven years ago!" His eyes narrowed slightly as his pupils flashed red once more, "You proved to me that day that you hated me! That you hated mother! That you hated your life!"

Goku's calm attitude crumbled. His arms dropped to his sides. And his eyes widened, lifting under that eyebrow-less forehead. It was enough to say that Gohan hated him, but to say that he, Goku, hated Chichi and the life they had together. That just seemed to paralyse him completely.

So he didn't even react as Gohan's rocketing ki appeared behind him. He didn't even care when Gohan's sharp boot collided with his back, covered in long, glowing locks of golden hair. And he didn't even make a sound as his face smashed into the ground.

"Hate's such a strong word…" He heard Gohan say from behind him. A hand grasped the back of his shirt, and yanked him to his knees. Gohan dropped him, and slowly moved to his front. Turquoise eyes bored into his head, as more words cut through his mind. "But for you…" Gohan's foot shot out, hitting Goku's jaw and throwing his head back in a spray of blood. "…We might need to find a stronger one!"

Goku raised a hand as Gohan kicked him again. He managed to block it, sending a ki blast into his son's stomach at the same time.

Gohan took a step back as it impacted, but didn't make a sound as he felt it burn at his skin. Once it had disappeared, he threw a fury at punches and kicks at his father.

Goku's hands and feet were quick to move as he blocked all of Gohan's efforts to hit him. A kick flew by his head, but he crouched under it and managed to swing a leg out, sending Gohan to the ground as it swept him off his feet.

"Why are we fighting Gohan?" Goku asked, watching calmly as his son pulled himself out of one of the many craters they had created in their battle.

The boy rolled over, and moved to his feet. They stood mere inches away as Gohan sent his father a reply, "Because I want to destroy you!" And with that, a fist flew out, doubling Goku over by contacting with his bleeding stomach.

It dug into his flesh, trying desperately to rip him apart. His long, flowing hair moved along with him as he grabbed the fist and pushed away. His form flew back; and Gohan's did also, creating a larger distance than before.

Both were quick to gather large amounts of ki at their sides, all the while chanting, "Ka… Me… Ha… Me…" Blue lit up the sky, as both got ready to shoot. And like many times before, a red light flickered around Gohan's, and his Kamehameha wave was soon tainted with the colour of crimson. "HAAAAAAAAA!" Both yelled as they let the two energy attacks meet in the middle.

A clashing of attacks such as this had happened many times before. Between Goku and Vegeta. Between Gohan and Cell. And even the more recent battle between Gohan and Vegeta only a few hours before. But this one held a lot more meaning than the last three. This was between father and son, not a common enemy.

A circling of emotions was poured into these attacks, such as hate; anger and even a little confusion on what had lead to this great battle.

But one thing was for certain, neither of them wanted to lose.

From both ends, a scream was heard, rocking the very ground beneath them. The lookout was suspended in mid air, so it didn't disturb the world below them. But it did almost send those on the lookout off their feet as they watched the two pour as much power as they could into their attacks.

Goku slowly started to over power his son, thrusting his arms forward as he did. Gohan's feet sunk into the ground as he tried desperately to keep his footing. But to no avail, his father continued to win.

Gohan's eyes widened, but they soon narrowed into a scowl, "Not if I can help it…" Pulling almost every ounce of strength he had left in his tiring body, he started to over power his father.

But that wasn't the end of it as, somehow, Goku managed to let even more power ripple into his attack. Once again, Gohan was pushed back, but he wouldn't give up. He took a daring step forward in an effort to retain the upper hand.

From his end, Goku smiled as he came to the realization that he was over powering Gohan. The boy was strong, but nothing compared to a Super Saiyan Three. Besides, he had spent too much energy in the earlier points of the battle to stand much of a chance in a move like this.

But then something dawned on him, something he had almost forgotten about. The winner of their clash of attacks was going to die; the beams were just too strong for anyone to survive. Except for Majin Buu, but that monster knew how to regenerate itself.

Basically, Goku wasn't ready to lose his son; no matter how many times the boy had said that he hated him. No, Gohan didn't deserve to die. He was only a teenager, so lost in a pool of memories that he was now looking at from a different angle.

Goku felt that he needed to end the attack before someone got hurt. Gohan had saved him on two occasions at that point, even if he denied that he meant to, now it was Goku's turn to do it.

Again, Instant Transmission seemed like the only option. So with a sharp intake of breath, he took a palm off the beam, letting Gohan quickly gain an upper hand. That hand rose to his head, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye, appearing behind his son.

Gohan watched as his own kamehameha wave overlapped his fathers, completely oblivious to the man standing behind him. It ripped through the air like a bullet, until it was nothing more than a thin line of crimson fire.

His hands closed tightly together, and he smirked in victory. But soon his senses came back online, and a very familiar flicker of ki was felt from behind him. He swung around, shocked by what he saw. His father floated there, staring at Gohan in a way only a super saiyan three could.

"No…" He blinked. "You should be dead!" His hands lit up in a flame of fire, and he shot out a hand to connect with his father's stomach. "Why won't you die!"

Goku grabbed the hand before it managed to do any damage, and threw his son over his shoulder. Gohan's body slammed into the ground, and was sent sliding across the tiled ground. Ironically, he stopped at Babidi's feet.

"Boy…" Babidi's soft tone echoed through the cold air, "Your time is up."

Gohan lifted himself up, eyeing his master in shock. "No… I can still beat h-" Gohan's sentence was cut short as a powerful mental shock was sent through him. The 'M' sitting above his brow line glowed a crimson red. He screamed as the pain grasped him, entwining with the powerful blows that infected his once beautiful body.

"Stand down!" Babidi hissed at the trembling boy. "Buu!" He yelled, turning his head to his father's creation. "Finish him off! And be quick about it!"

Buu's podgy head nodded up and down, before he jumped over the withering teenager, and sprinted over to where Goku stood.

Goku's eyes widened slightly as he watched Gohan's head fall as a pained look came over his face. "Gohan…" A bead of sweat dropped from his brow-less forehead, but Goku reached up to wipe it away. "What's happening to you?

A pink blur suddenly landed in front of him, soon revealing itself to be none other than Majin Buu. "You fight with me now, mean man!" Buu's childish voice hallowed, as he pointed a round finger at his pink chest.

A harsh breath left Goku's mouth as he crouched into a fighting position. The fight with Gohan had really taken a toll on him, and he slowly felt himself lose his grasp on his new transformation. Like he had predicted, it was a lot harder to hold onto than in other world. But still, the long hair and brow-less forehead remained.

His feet slightly shuffled as he was overcome with fear. He knew he wasn't going to last very long with such a depleting power level. But be damned if he wasn't going to try.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 17 September 2005 – 2986 words**

A new review record has been set: Eleven. One more than last time!

And speaking of reviews, this story managed to reach past one hundred. So thanks to everyone for helping me get to that point. Whether you are a one-time reviewer or sticking with me for every chapter, I love you all!

There you go, **LauraNeatO**! The word 'loose' has been changed to 'lose' in every place needed.


	22. Against Impossible Odds

**Chapter Twenty Two – Against Impossible Odds**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: The only thing I own in this world is my cat _Whiskers_. Oh do I love _Whiskers_!

As of now, my loyal readers, I have decided to cut the reply section (It takes up too much room! I know you just want to get straight to the story). I will reply if you ask me a question, but otherwise, you'll have to settle with the strange author notes that I leave with every chapter. Hope that's okay.

But I do have something to say to **MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**: You read my mind!

Although, I will still thank the people who reviewed my chapters in that usual list that I do, in the order I received your review of course.

Well, here are Chapter Twenty One's (Intervention) reviewers: **lady-kagome84**, **LauraNeatO**, **EVILNESS13**, **darksupersaiyan**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **saiyan prince 1**, **MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**, **dfd**, **Tasha**, **Shadow Dreamer 27**,** satan'stoasterstrudel** and **gamehead64 **(Woah… that's a lot of names).

* * *

Goku's weakened body managed to block every attack the energized monster threw at him, and even though each one hurt like he had never experienced before, he was just glad it wasn't Gohan who was delivering such deadly blows.

Speaking of Gohan… The full-blooded, earth-raised saiyan took a quick glance at the ground where Gohan lay. He hadn't moved since Goku had last observed the boy, but luckily enough, Babidi had left him to get a better look at the fight his father's creation was participating in. The one Goku was losing, obviously.

His face whipped around to face Buu, just to see a yellow-gloved hand slam into his nose. He cried in pain as he flew back a few meters. His hands flew to his nose, only to find blood seeping from his nostrils. He pulled his fingers away, seeing that sticky crimson liquid spread all over them.

The temporary distraction cost him, and he was too late to see a glowing ball land a direct hit in his stomach. "WA _WHOOOOO_!" The monster yelled as he made contact, followed by the sound of breaking bones from Goku's abdomen.

"I need…" He gasped out, trying to grab his observing friend's attention, "A senzu bean!"

But no, getting them to hear him would surely have their location revealed; he would just have to do without those magical beans.

"Who you talking to, mean man?" Buu questioned, raising an eyebrow at the man, apparently showing himself to be smarter than people gave him credit for.

Goku growled, half for being stupid as to ask the air for such a thing, and half because Buu continuously called him '_mean man_'. Deciding to draw the attention away from his hidden friends, he asked, "Why do you keep calling me '_mean man_?'"

For some odd _odd_ reason, Buu erupted in a strange, childish laughter, one you would expect from someone like Goten. It was Goku's turn to raise an eyebrow.

A minute passed, and still Buu laughed, "What's so _funny_?" He finally asked.

"You stupid!" Buu yelled, still laughing like an idiot. He pointed a fat, accusing at Goku, "It obvious why you _mean_!" His yellow-gloved hands dropped to his hips as he poked out his tongue, "You hurt Gohan!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Goku screeched as he shot forward, his long, flowing hair blowing in the breeze, nothing gave Buu the excuse to say he had hurt Gohan. That stupid, pink monster didn't know the half of it.

He found new energy racing through his veins, and felt he could take on Buu not matter how tired he felt. The monster may not know it, but he had released a fire in Goku that wasn't so easily put out.

Lucky enough, Goku was too quick for Buu, and he managed to dig a fist into the monster's stomach. Buu doubled over in pain, not reacting at all to counter attack. Goku knew he was just getting lucky, so he was quick to follow the attack up with a kick aimed to his head. As it connected, the monster flew back, and Goku took this time to gather as much energy as he could in his palms. With a yell, it erupted from his palms.

Smoke surrounded the falling monster as the blast impacted. Buu was seen flipping through the air, rolled up into a ball. Soon his limbs stretched apart, as he stopped himself, and he yelled at Goku, hands cupped around his mouth, "You no fun! You always so angry! I kill you now!"

It was amazing how innocently that monster said that, as though he didn't get how incredibly powerful such a sentence was. And the way he said '_kill_' so freely, it was enough to make Goku hurl.

But he swallowed back the fragments of lunch reaching the tip of his tongue as he swerved to the right. Such an action moved him out of the way of a searing hot ball of orangey-yellow energy that sizzled past his head. He heaved a sigh, but such relief was short lived as Buu's fist sliced through the air.

Goku managed to dodge that attempt, and the one after that, and the one after that. When Buu said he was going to kill someone, he meant it. Buu had raised his power, showing that he had been toying with him only moments before.

Honestly, did Buu _ever_ run out of energy?

He highly doubted it…

Another punch was thrown, but Goku managed to dodge this attack too by ducking underneath it and diving for the ground. He landed as gracefully as a bird, not disturbing the ground in his speedy fall. But congratulating himself on keeping the lookout intact never came to mind, as he was instantly thrown back into the fight.

Buu's foot sailed through the air in a collision course for Goku's head. The man dodged, pulling his swaying golden locks with him. He reached out to grab Buu's foot, but the monster was too fast for him, and his hands grasped nothing but open air.

As quick as he could, he ducked under another of Buu's attacks, and kicked him in the stomach with a lucky shot. The fat pink monster flew back, landing in a pink mess on the pavement of the lookout.

Mountains of sweat dripped down Goku's brow-less face, drenching that one hair resting on his forehead with salty fluid. He brought a hand up, slapping it back to join with his other golden locks. It easily stuck to them, giving him a strange, fringeless look.

Luckily for him, Buu didn't attack him straight away, but he did hear the monster yell, "Why you not stay still?"

Goku coughed, tasting blood instantly as it splashed past his tongue and onto the ground. Buu asked so many questions, and in the most childish way ever, always forgetting words in such simple sentences.

But he didn't have time to ponder it, as again, Buu attacked him with unrestrained force. He had been lucky before, being able to land a punch, or kick, on the monster. Goku knew he wouldn't have such luck again.

He managed to dodge a few more attempts, but a kick to the side finally struck, and he was sent flying sideways. He crashed into the ground, and slid out of control across the pavement. He didn't manage to stop until he crashed into a rock that had been upturned when either Gohan or himself had created one of those giant craters.

"That's it Buu!" He heard a voice screech not too far away, the one that had such a powerful hold on Gohan, "_Kill_ him! _Kill_ him!"

Goku picked himself off the ground, crawling back to his feet. He spotted Babidi, congratulating on a job well done, even though he hadn't defeated him just yet. Goku struggled to place a smirk on his red face, but he managed it. He brought two hands down to his sides, gathering as much energy as he could.

"Ka…me…ha…me…" He was going to try one more of these, now that Buu was distracted. Perhaps he would kill two birds with one stone using this attack, since Babidi was in his line of fire. "HAAA!" He whispered, only loud enough to catch the attention of Babidi, but not the laughing Buu.

When Babidi saw the attack coming, his eyes widened, but he quickly yelled, "Papadapapa!" And he disappeared, appearing about ten meters away from the blast.

Naturally, Buu's short attention span cost him, for the blast slammed into his side in a direct hit. He screamed as it cut through his side, throwing pink goo everywhere as it disappeared into his hips. A flash surrounded him, and he fell over.

Goku smiled, hoping the battle was over. But then he remembered something Piccolo had said…

'_The only way we_'_re going to defeat this monster is if we destroy every last piece of him_!_ Every last particle_!'

He was pretty sure that was too small of a blast to truly do any damage to a monster like Buu. While that blast had surely cut his body in two, Buu had stronger healing capabilities than Cell!

"Oh man…" He breathed, realizing he had to attack now if he were to blow Buu into oblivion.

Just as he feared, the monster stood up, a hole situated through his sides. Only a centimetre worth of skin was holding the top half of his body up. And just like magic, pink flesh pooled into that hole, starting the process of healing himself completely.

Goku's eyes widened, now was the time to act, "No!" He yelled, shooting forward, palms surging with ki.

Once he was close enough to the monster, he let loose a barrage of powerful blue blasts that sent Buu flying backwards. Even as he felt his power disappearing into nothing, he still kept the attacks up, for he had to kill Buu, it was now or never.

But soon, it was too much for him, and he dropped from the sky, his long hair flowing above his head. But just before he crashed, that hair glowed, sinking back into his head. His bulging brow shrunk back to normal size and those once non-existent eyebrows appeared again.

He had returned back into Super Saiyan two, the second Ascension. Surely all hope for the earth was lost now.

……………………………

Another attempt to lift himself to his feet failed, as he came crashing back down to the ground. "Stupid dad…" He hissed, rolling onto his back, "Why does he have to be stronger than me? I hate me so much…"

Pain overtook him as he tried to at least prop himself up on his elbows. At that point, he just gave up, and went to watching the battle between Buu and Goku. That should have been him up there, fighting the man that had caused him so much grief his whole life.

But no, Babidi had called him down, "Stupid wizard…" He sighed, "…Master." He'd have to kill that wizard eventually, but that would be extremely unsanitary, for Babidi was the only one holding him up at the moment.

It was weird, but Gohan felt that no one had ever treated him better than Babidi. But of course, that was a lie. But the hateful feelings for his _family_ and _friends_ had intensified not too long ago. He couldn't remember what good things they had done for him, he had once, but now it was all a blur, clouded by blood, death, and abandonment. All he could think about now was his father's death, and how much he wanted to be the cause of it.

He gathered enough strength to smash his palms together, Oh how he would love to see that saiyan squirm.

But he had had that chance so many times already, but he had let it pass each time. It wasn't every day that he would get an opportunity like his previous ones. He hated himself now, for being so weak. His heart was getting in the way, for he just didn't have the guts to kill anyone. At least not anyone close to him… But they weren't close to him anymore, not really…

……

_Again, Gohan's eyes glowed a dark red as the word 'son' floated through the air. With a snap, he twisted harsly out of his father's grip and quickly wrapped a powerful hand around the man's neck. "Just _shut up_!" He screamed, tightening his already deadly grip. He felt Goku's nails dig into his wrist as his father tried to escape his hold. "I am not your son!" His eyes narrowed as he bared his sharp saiyan teeth, "Don't _ever_ call me that!"_

_He watched his father, as he tried desperately to speak. But Gohan sent him a strong glare of hate, warning him not to try anything. Luckily, it worked, for his father's struggling stopped once their eyes met._

_Gohan smirked, grip tightening, for after this, Goku would be dead. And not just dead, like he already was, but actually_ dead._ He wouldn't exist in either realm; he would never darken Gohan's, or anybody else's doorstep again. That was, perhaps, the best part._

"_Gohan… please…" He watched as his father's eyes clenched shut. "You don't want to do this…" Goku's grip around his wrist loosened as he took on a faraway look. Just a few more seconds, and he would be dead, completely._

_But, to his own disbelief, he started to feel sorry for his father. The man deserved to die, but at the same he didn't. It was a strange line of thought, his breath quickened as the flow of yin and yang emotions mixed in his conscious. And before he even knew what he was doing, he loosened the grip he held on his father's neck, and the man was soon free._

"_Thank you, Gohan…" The man breathed, obviously taking in oxygen for his shrivelling lungs_

……

His fingers scratched at the ground as that flashback flowed through his mind again and again. "Idiot…" He growled under his breath, letting the word only float through his ear. As it echoed around him, he was reminded over and over again how stupid he was.

There was no reason existent that could excuse such behaviour as to let _Goku_ go. That man deserved to die, to become nothing but dust in the wind. But no, he was still up there fighting Buu. And even though he had dropped out of Super Saiyan Three mere minutes before, he was still going strong.

Gohan had promised himself that he would never excuse such a chance again, but he feared he wouldn't be able to keep that promise this time either. Something always seemed to stop him. Because the fact was, no matter how much he tried to deny it...

'_Because you're my son_! _Whether you like it or not_!'

…that man was his father.

And so, like many times before, Gohan was torn between good and evil, wondering what he was most loyal to.

He rolled onto his side, feeling a river of salt-water tears slip down his face. "I'm just a failure…" And he truly believed that. He was better off alone, for not even Babidi trusted him anymore. The wizard he had accustomed to as master had pulled him out of a fight that had truly been his, then diminished most of his strength so that he couldn't jump back in there.

All he could do now was rest, and hope his energy would return to him soon.

……………………………

Her hands developed the strangest colour of white as she squeezed them tightly around each other. Nails dug in, almost drawing blood. She couldn't take her eyes off him, so helpless in his effort to bring himself to his feet. It was obvious he had given up on that, and had simply gone onto watching his father and Buu fight in yet another battle for the death.

In a flash of movement, one of her hands wrapped around her stomach as one million thoughts of death circled her mind. Honestly, she had never been involved so deeply in such a subject until now.

Even though she had taken on the role of guardian over Satan/Hercule City, and knew she was practically standing on death's darkening doorstep every time she went out to fight one of those hideous goons, she had never really put much thought in the subject.

But now, it was all she could think about. It was scary to think you were doomed to die, no matter what you did. For fighting the universe's most deadly creature, a demented little wizard, and your former boyf- best friend was truly a pointless thing to do.

Goku was giving it a shot though, and in some way, that man also knew he would lose.

But even though that hope was lost, she couldn't help feeling that it wasn't for Gohan. Videl felt a strange connection with him, and like she had mentioned to the boy's father, she just needed to talk to him.

This seemed as good a time as any to give it a shot. So, with a deep breath, she leapt from her spot on the ground, and landed on the stone railing that separated her from Gohan.

She was about to jump down, but feeling a strong, rough skinned hand grab her fragile wrist stopped any line of action. Videl was yanked back, leaving a hoarse scream floating through the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice hissed from behind her. Her head whipped around, seeing Piccolo scowling at her. Truly disappointed with her stupid action.

She returned his look with twice the force, pulling for Piccolo to let her go. "What does it look like I'm doing!" She snarled, pulling twice as hard, no one was going to stop her from getting to Gohan, "I'm going to help Gohan!"

"Foolish girl! You'll get yourself killed!"

Videl sighed, "He wouldn't kill me…" She whispered, but everyone knew what she was saying. "He's not like that!"

Piccolo's grip tightened, "How do you know that? Do you not know how much he has changed since you last spoke to him?"

Even with that said, Videl's stubbornness wouldn't let her give up. "Let me go!" She all but whispered, pulling against impossible odds.

Piccolo watched with slight fascination, she was willing to risk her own life just to talk to that… that… _traitor_. He didn't know whether to call her stupid, or brave than any of them would ever be. She was letting her heart control her actions, not her head.

Yet he found himself fighting off the urge to let her go, even though he knew the consequences to such an action. But would there truly be any benefits to letting her go? Of course, the only benefit of restraining her was that she wouldn't die. They did have the Dragonballs though, in case that was to ever happen.

So he was at a cross road, wondering what to do next.

He had said himself, even if it had only _been_ to himself, that in the end, Videl would play a great part in setting Gohan's soul free. He didn't know why he had thought that, for he didn't know much about their growing relationship. They just seemed to hold that connection whenever they were around each other.

But on the other hand, Babidi still had a control over the boy, so even if she did manage to reach him, Babidi could stop him from listening to her, he had that power. The wizard had created a connection between himself and the boy, it was obvious, if he were to show a resistance, the kid was as good as dead.

Again, he was completely torn.

"Let her go."

His black pupils shifted in their sockets, coming to who had spoken, Vegeta. His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, why would Vegeta want him to release her?

"What!" He began, voicing his straying thoughts, "But why!"

"Just do it!"

His eyes returned to the struggling girl, she was simply oblivious to Vegeta's and his conversation. It was almost as if her ears were filled with wax.

An icy breath left his mouth as he loosened his grip on her wrist. Slowly, she managed to slip out of his hold, stumbling backwards at the shock of her task being complete. But she caught herself, and jumped back on the railing, not wanting to be grabbed by Piccolo again.

She jumped down, and was soon out of sight. It was too late to save her know.

Piccolo growled, turning to Vegeta with a menacing glare. He was still incredibly confused at why the saiyan prince had told him to let her go, and even more confused as to why he had listened to him. "I hope you realise," Piccolo snarled to the oldest saiyan of them all, "She's going against _impossible_ odds."

The only reply Piccolo received was a confident smirk. Not that that was much of a reply.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 24 September 2005 – 3353 words**

Well, everybody, New Zealand is officially back into the holidays as of the 22 of September. So now you may be getting faster updates, or maybe not, I do have a lot of PS2 games I want to try out now that I have free time.

Also, I've developed an unnatural obsession over Xiaolin Showdown so I'll also be spending heaps of time searching for Raimundo fics (Since I just love that Brazilian boy so much!). But I'll still be spending heaps of time on this fiction.

You know what I just realized, I haven't watched a single episode of Dragonball Z in over half a year, but I still haven't lost the inspiration to write about it yet… weird.


	23. Just to Talk

**Chapter Twenty Three – Just to Talk**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: And once again, I deliver the bad news; I don't own Dragonball Z!

Chapter Twenty Two's (Against Impossible Odds) reviewers:** darksupersaiyan**, **MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**, **DBZ Chick1**, **jjkim**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **Shadow Dreamer 27**, **Ava**, **satan'stoasterstrudel**, **Ryoko-demon** and **GroudonSage**.

* * *

The ground rushed towards her as she jumped.

Taking a quick glance behind her, she noticed that Piccolo didn't try to grab her again. But there was no time to wonder about that now; she needed to get to Gohan.

Only a second later, she landed on the ground, with the aid of her inner energy, once she realised how high that drop truly was. She soon went off in a sprint towards the boy she was so worried about. He needed someone to comfort him; she knew that. Or at least someone to talk to. He had so much anger inside him, whether it be thanks to the influence of Babidi, or his own, natural thoughts, he still needed to share them.

She turned to the battle between Goku and Buu, still in a sprint, and then to Babidi, the cause of this whole dilemma. Thankfully, that stupid little roach hadn't noticed her yet. If he had, she surly would be dead by now. She heaved a sigh of relief at that thought; she didn't think she was ready to die yet.

All thoughts of Piccolo, Babidi and death screamed to a halt as she finally reached Gohan. His back was to her, but the feeling of fear, confusion and loneliness radiated from his form. Her stomach clenched at the sight of him. He was so helpless.

And suddenly she realized she didn't know what to say to him. All she wanted to do was talk but she hadn't thought where to go from there. Her hand lightly patted the area where her heart was, and she sighed, perhaps there wasn't anything to plan.

She dropped to her knees so that they were at the same level as each other. She tried to be as quiet as she could. Courage didn't flow through her as much as she thought it would, Gohan had killed many people - as was her understanding – why would stop him from killing her? She just wasn't ready to let him know she was there.

No, it was best not to think like that. She would be okay, she was sure of it.

Slowly – painstakingly slowly – she reached out a hand, letting it rest on his shoulder. A shiver travelled up her spine as a harsh wind passed through her arm, lightly ruffling her short, black hair. It was his influence to have it cut, and she remembered how she reacted when he said people could easily pull on it during a fight.

She had exploded at him, but strangely enough, had it cut anyway.

"Gohan…?" She whispered, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

A gasp echoed from his lips as he jolted from her touch. Newfound strength entered him as he lifted himself up until he was in a sitting position. His eyes widened as they lay on her. A look of confusion was tainting her beautiful features.

_Beautiful?_

"Vi…del?" He stuttered, shuffling backwards to create a larger distance between them. The shock passed him, and his eyes narrowed into a scowl, "What do _you_ want?" He growled, trying desperately to give his voice a menacing tone.

He didn't want her to see him like this, so the best thing to do would be to scare her away.

But she was unfazed by Gohan's angry tone, much to his shock. At the very least, he was expecting her to yell at him. Tell him not to be such a jerk towards her. But she just smiled sympathetically, moving forward so that she was closer to him.

"I just want to talk…" Her hand reached out to touch his, but again, he moved away.

His eyes moved to the ground, running over the many cracks that tainted the white surface. "There's nothing to talk about!" He snarled, still not looking at her.

He found himself wondering why he didn't just kill her, instead of trying to shoo her away. Of course that wasn't working, so wouldn't whipping her off the face of the earth be his only option? But even with that fact buzzing through his head, he couldn't even raise a energy surged finger.

"Just leave." He ordered, skipping over her head with his eyes to see the battle above them.

Nothing was special about it. Buu still had the upper hand against Goku since their – Gohan and Goku's - battle had taken a lot from him. But at least it was something that would get his mind off Videl.

Speaking of Videl… She still hadn't left him alone, as to his request. No, she was just sitting there, staring at him as though waiting for him to open up to her. To tell her everything that was flowing through his mind. Part of him wanting to share his thoughts with her, while the other told him to be quiet and ignore the girl. At the moment, the latter was winning over.

He took a quick glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She was giving him a small smile, one he wasn't used to.

It was strange to see her look at him like that, surly this wasn't the Videl he knew. She seemed so worried at him; different to the grouchy 'brat' he had come to know in high school. But he had to admit; she had changed a lot since he started teaching her how to fly.

He didn't quite know what had triggered it, but she had started to be a bit calmer than she used to be. Sure, she was still prone to sudden outbursts of anger, but not as much as before.

Gohan sighed inwardly, wishing that he had enough strength to get to his feet and move away from her. But no, sitting was all his body was allowing him to do at the moment. But he could still move a little bit, so he shuffled away from her again.

Videl noticed the gap between them grow larger again but was quick to close it once more. She would do whatever it took to snap Gohan out of whatever he was going through, no matter what it took.

"Please, Gohan…" She spoke, breaking the silence that once consumed them only a few seconds before. "I just want to help you."

She watched as he shook his head and wrapped his arms around his legs. "I'm beyond help…" She barely heard him whisper over the rustle of wind washing over them.

The urge to wrap her arms around him overcame her, but she decided against such an action. It was too big a step at the moment; she would just have to wait before she could do something like that.

Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the red-ness of his eyes. Why hadn't she noticed it before? "Gohan…" She began, a little lost for words, "…Were you crying?"

A look of surprise came over his face, and he shuffled away from her again. His hand quickly whipped away the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He didn't answer her, causing Videl to look away from him.

It wasn't working quite how she had expected it to. Gohan wasn't as open as she had hoped, in fact; they weren't really getting anywhere. She was at a loss for ideas, and asking him if he had been crying hadn't helped in the slightest.

She bit her bottom lip in thought, and a silence embraced them. An icy wind joined with it, causing both Gohan and Videl to shiver stimulatory.

"What's wrong Gohan?" She finally asked, "Just tell me… and I'll help you though whatever it is." She gave him a reassuring smile, one that was returned by a set of confused eyes.

His mouth opened to speak, but what left his parted lips was a flow of icy, visible air. He didn't know if he was ready to talk to anyone, especially not Videl. He hadn't known her that long, just a few months. But they _were_ best friends – or high school best friends at least; perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to just… _talk_…

"Um…" He began, wondering what to say. He had gone through it in his mind so many times before, but he was at a loss for words as how to tell Videl about it. Surly she wouldn't understand. It only seemed to make sense in his mind.

He watched as Videl's eyes lit up with hope, "Yes?"

Silence once again circled them, causing Videl's face to drop. With a sigh, she turned to the battle above them. Maybe Gohan wasn't ready to talk just yet… she just had to accept that. But that didn't mean she was going to leave his side.

To Videl, it felt like they stayed like that forever, just watching as Goku and Buu went head to head in a battle to the death. But then a miracle happened… She heard – just above a whisper – Gohan speak.

"I'm just a failure…" Was what he said.

Videl's head whipped around to face him, stopping once those coal black eyes met her blue ones. "What…?" She chocked, a little surprised at what Gohan said. She was confused as to what the boy meant by that.

"I'm just a failure…" He repeated, an unwavering expression of sadness staring straight at her.

And once again, her teeth dug deep into her bottom lip; her mind searching for a way to tell him he was wrong. Son Gohan wasn't a failure in her eyes. "No your not, Gohan…" She began, smiling at him with a bleeding lip, "You've done so many great things… You defeated Cell!"

"At a cost…" He mumbled, "My father died because I didn't destroy Cell when I had the chance."

Videl – again – reached out a hand and rested it on his own. This time, he didn't move away from her. Instead, he lightly grasped it. She was surprised at this action, but didn't pull away. She just smiled, truly feeling like she was getting somewhere with him.

"It's not your fault he died Gohan…"

A strange laugh left Gohan's lips. It was quick, and was soon replaced with a scowl. "Even so… he had a chance to come back!" Videl could have sworn Gohan's eyes glowed a dark red at thst moment, but pushed that thought aside as her seeing things – or a trick of the light.

Videl gave his hand a strong squeeze, hoping to calm him down. She could see he was starting to get a little angry, and that could result in her death if she wasn't careful. "I'm sure he had a good reason Gohan… Goku's a nice guy…"

'_Bullshit_!'

Gohan remembered saying that when his father had said the same thing as Videl just did. But he didn't dare say that putrid word to her face. No, instead it skipped around in his mind as his mouth curved into a strange grin.

A slim piece of saliva hit the pavement, along with a little blood from his previous battle. He still hadn't been cleaned up yet, but he didn't care at that moment. No, all he could think about was his father's reason for abandoning them all, and Videl's hand grasped in his own.

Strangely enough, he liked the feel of it. It was so soft compared to his. It was amazing that Videl could pack such a punch with such delicate fingers… His eyes widened slightly… since when did he care what Videl's hand felt like? Or the fact he was holding it?

"Do you know what his reason was?" She asked, pulling him out of the weird thoughts that had been running through his head.

Gohan growled. He knew exactly why that man had left them. "He said… when he refused to come back… that it was because every threat to the earth was because of him."

Videl raised an eyebrow, what did that even mean? How could someone be at fault for all the villains that threatened earth? "What did he mean by that?" She questioned, voicing her thoughts to him.

Gohan swallowed to clear his throat, "Well, about thirteen or fourteen years ago, a saiyan called Raditz came to earth – my _uncle_. He came looking for _dad_ to see if he had finished his task of destroying all the humans on the planet…"

He paused to look at Videl, wondering if she was listening to him. She nodded in acknowledgment, so he continued with what he was saying. It felt like, at that very moment, that he was about to tell Videl his life story, or at least all the villains he had fought. And for some odd reason, he was completely okay with that.

"I suppose that was his fault…" Gohan murmured, looking away for a second. "But when the other saiyans came – a year later – they weren't really looking for dad. They were looking for the dragonballs."

His eyes narrowed slightly, creasing his brow. Videl's gaze lifted to his forehead where the _M_ of the Majin sat. A shiver travelled through her spine as she watched it tinge a strange red. It probably went like that when he was mad, or perhaps when he was remembering something horrible that happened.

She could tell by the faraway look in her eyes that he was in fact tangled in a flashback – or daydreaming. She felt his grip on her hand tighten ever so slightly, and she couldn't help but think of how close Goku had come to dying only about quarter of an hour before. The hand grasping onto hers was the same one that had squeezed that man's neck.

Her eyes returned to his face, swallowing back the scene of Goku dangling from Gohan's grip. She watched in surprise as his eyes flickered to life in front of her. It seemed the memory he had been lost in had disappeared, and he was back to telling her of all the examples of his battles.

"Frieza…" He muttered suddenly, "We had to go to namek to fight him. He had always been a threat to the universe, and he was after the dragonballs for immortality. So again, my dad had nothing to do with it…"

Videl smiled slightly, it felt nice to finally talk to the converted boy. Even though he was the one doing all the talking.

Subconsciously, she moved closer to him, laying her head on the white fabric just barely covering his shoulder. Gohan didn't make any move to push her away, in fact, it was almost as if he hadn't noticed her change of position.

"Garlic junior came after me…"

As he continued to talk, a soft wind blew over them. It felt much more nicer against her skin than the other strange winds that had been plaguing them that day. This one seemed to relax her, and she almost fell numb against his shoulder.

"…The androids and Cell came for him of course…"

Gohan's voice still rocked in the background. She was still listening to every word he shared, but her mind was only half on what he was saying. The other was focused on how warm he felt against her. As those thoughts circled her mind, she remembered what she had admitted to herself only a few hours before.

_I_…_ love him_

She believed it now.

"I love you."

She felt the body next to her tense at those words.

And her eyes instantly widened in disbelief, had she just said that aloud? Half of her was unhappy with this turn of events, hissing at her subconscious for saying such a thing when it was obviously not the right time. But the other half of her was practically jumping for joy, doing back flips in the confines of her stomach. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders for that half.

In a flash, he was staring into her blue eyes, mouth half open as though he was trying to say something. "I-" He finally stuttered out, but a loud voice interrupted him before he managed to utter anymore.

"Gohan!"

**To be continued…**

**Posted 6 October 2005 – 2682 words**

Yup, this chapter is short (At least for this story) but I thought that this scene should have it's own chapter. Sorry if I cut you off in a bad place, but I found it… appropriate.


	24. Fearing the Worst

**Chapter Twenty Four – Fearing the Worst**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything related to the word Dragonball or the letter Z.

Chapter Twenty Three's (Just to Talk) reviewers: **jjkim**, **darksupersaiyan**, **MysticSuperSaiyan**, **lady-kagome84**, **chimney leaf**, **satan'stoasterstudel**, **EVILNESS13**, **cooldude**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **LauraNeat0**, **saiyan prince1**, **DBZ Chick1**, **Shadow Dreamer 27**, and **Ava**.

* * *

It was just a simple action; all he did was look behind himself. All he wanted to do was make sure that Gohan was behaving himself. He didn't really expect to see anything, the boy had barely any strength left, and he had made sure of that.

But the sight that greeted Babidi when his head whipped around was enough to make his blood boil. Gohan was talking to that stupid girl… Videl… he remembered. She was a pest, one he suddenly wished to get rid of. Just like those two boys – Goten and Trunks – she was slowly reaching him, loosening the binds that Babidi had consumed him with. While her effect wasn't as great, it was still doing damage to the boy's loyalties.

He could feel the strings loosening in the back of his mind…

With a growl of built up anger, he tapped into the boy's thoughts, and tried to listen to the words processing.

"…_The androids and Cell came for him of course_…"

The beginning of the sentence bounced off the walls of Gohan's mind before the boy finally said them, and from that point, the teenager didn't need to think about what to say next, so Babidi couldn't hear it. So for a few seconds, fifteen to be exact, there was silence on Babidi's end, until Gohan started to process something.

"_I love you_."

Babidi jumped. Surprised beyond belief that the girl would say such a thing, and that Gohan wouldn't let those strange three words leave his mind. The confusion clouded Babidi's vision of the boy's thoughts, so the wizard didn't quite know what Gohan was about to say to that.

But he feared the worst, and he wasn't going to let the conversation go on any further.

"Gohan!" The wizard screeched, hoping to pull the boy out of his thoughts. It seemed to have worked, because he watched Gohan's head jolt to attention, and felt all thoughts of Videl and the world around them dissolve in an instant.

Babidi smirked darkly; enjoying the way Gohan was so quick to drop everything just so that he could listen to his '_master_'. Sure, Babidi had felt a lot of doubt in the boy lately towards whether evil was the right choice or not, but he still seemed to be exceptionally loyal.

Before Babidi squeezed out any orders to his young Majin, he shot his arms forward, and gathered as much physical energy as he could. His hand created perfect circles in the air as he started to focus his magic. Large eyelids lowered to cover dull green pupils and his lips parted, ready to chant his favourite magical word.

"_Papadapapa_!"

As though shooting out an invisible column of dark energy, Babidi thrust his arms forward, and delivered a powerful frenzy of punches to the air. Stolen energy connected with their target, Gohan, throwing the teenager back.

Babidi's eyes slowly drifted open and he started to watch Gohan, waiting patiently for a reaction.

And that was exactly what he got.

It wasn't much through… for a second; Gohan glowed in a strange colour, one mixed with red and golden, before he burst into super saiyan. The sudden rush of power blew Videl away, and she crashed into the pavement with a '_thud_' even Babidi could pick up.

It all happened so fast for Gohan. One second he was lost for words when Videl had told him that she _loved_ him, the next, Babidi had called him to attention. And now he found himself on his back, and Videl struggling to get up at least seven metres away.

For a second, he was confused, but soon he came to the realization that Babidi had returned his strength to him. And although he still found himself soaked with a light layer of sticky, crimson liquid, his body no longer ached. And the best part was, now he could kill his father, hopping to finish what he had started.

But first he would have to call Buu off, something he would do once he was up in the air. An evil grin graced his features as excitement filled him; he hated to watch a battle at the sidelines. And now he was at full strength, ready to pound his father into the ground once more.

He licked his lips in a slow motion, before summoning up a small amount of ki and sending it to his feet. But before he managed to even lift a toe off the hard surface of the lookout, Babidi's voice echoed in the corners of his subconscious, and any action he had been planning was called off.

"_Kill the girl_!"

The command rang through his mind, accompanied by the harsh tone his master used. Gohan's eyes widened for one split second, and he turned his head to where Videl stood shakily, only just having pulled herself to her feet.

As strange as it sounded, he had almost forgotten that she was there. Thoughts of killing his father once and for all had clouded his mind, destroying the moment they had shared in an instant. He bit into his lip with his sharp saiyan teeth, but he didn't break the surface of his skin.

"…_Then you can destroy your father_."

Babidi's voice came again, finishing off his previous sentence after a ten second delay. He eyed the other teenager for a second, not quite sure what to do. If he wanted to kill his father, she would have to go down first. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, and threw on an uncharacteristic smirk.

Videl took a step back as that strange smile played across Gohan's lips. She gulped, fearing what would happen next. The worst, perhaps. She feared death at that moment, caused by one of her closest friends. A murderous glint shone in her line of vision, and all those fears were confirmed. And she found that she could only blame herself.

She had chosen the worst time to comfort Gohan, and even told him that she loved him. Oh what a mistake that had been. One big, irreversible mistake. He hadn't been ready for that, he hadn't even been ready to except her presence, but she had been too persistent in getting him to talk. It had been such a full proof plan at the start, but it wasn't looking too smart now…

But she still wasn't entirely convinced that she was the one to blame for Gohan's sudden change in behaviour, surly Babidi had put in his last two cents with that strange magical spell.

She sighed inwardly, letting all thoughts of who was to blame float out an open window, and looked up into that usually gentle face. Even though that same evil glint hadn't left his turquoise orbs yet, he hadn't even raised a finger to attack her, and she was quite thankful for that.

Yet there was no stopping what would eventually happen, and she had somewhat agreed to this fate when she jumped from her hiding spot in the tower of the lookout.

Her crystal blue eyes suddenly locked with Gohan's, and watched as they swirled into a sickening red colour before the teenager in front of her raised a bleeding palm and gathered as much black energy as he could. With that done, he slowly took perfect aim to her chest.

Creamy eyelids snapped over beautiful blue pupils as she awaited her fate. Fear gripped her stomach, and she bent over slightly, hesitantly folding her slender arms over Gohan's bull's-eye.

"_No_!" She heard someone yell, "Don't do it, big brother!"

She stood straight, and snapped her eyes open. The sight of Goten running along the pavement, hair lifted in flowing golden locks, greeted her. Her eyes drifted over to Gohan, who was staring dead ahead, watching the small seven-year-old come closer and closer.

"Goten…?" Both Gohan and Videl murmured at the same time, staring at the young super saiyan in surprise.

Everything slowed down for all three of them as Goten's small feet pounded the pavement. And time seemed to slow down even more as the little boy jumped from his spot only two metres away from Gohan, and wrapped his arms around his brother's waist.

The force sent them both toppling to the ground, Goten's arms still hugging Gohan protectively.

A super saiyan's hard, green eyes, easily softened by Goten's innocent heart, stared up at the older half-human. Both brothers met each other's gaze, questioning the others motives for either stopping the deadly attack, or why the deadly attack was created in the first place.

A silence surrounded them, only to be broken when a voice called out within the confines of Gohan's mind. The teenager snapped to attention, but Goten's innocent stare never faltered.

"_Change of plans_!" The voice screeched. It took but moments to know who was speaking, "_Kill that insolent brat first_… _or I will strip you of your powers_."

Gohan was slightly confused as to why Babidi had threatened him that time, when he hadn't while ordering him to kill Videl. Perhaps it was because Goten was his own flesh and blood, and that they held a stronger bond than he did with Videl. That only showed that Babidi didn't trust his loyalty, thinking petty emotions would get in the way of his goal… to kill his father.

…But Goten was family; did the need to prove his master wrong really get in the way of that?

Right now, the boy wasn't sure. Even though he should have been.

Making up his mind, he narrowed his brow into a scowl and locked eyes with his little brother once more. "Sorry, Goten…" He said with an intimidating hiss, causing Goten's grip around his older sibling's waist to loosen.

He really didn't want to fight Goten, deep down. But something was telling him it was the only way, whatever that meant.

"What do you mean?" Goten's eyes started to well with salt-water tears. He didn't know what his brother was sorry for, but he feared the worst. "…Gohan?"

For a duration of ten long seconds, Gohan didn't do anything, staring into his brother's eyes with a fierce glare, as if to say he should back off or there would be consequences. But Goten didn't want to leave his brother just yet. He was about as persistent as Videl, and showed this when his tiny fists tightened on Gohan's white uniform.

Gohan growled, knowing he'd have to get rid of Goten the hard way, a hard way for both of them, a way that included force. So as a yell left the teenager's throat, he pried Goten off him, and threw the little boy to the ground.

Goten slammed into the hard, white concrete, denting it as he bounced from his first hit and rolled off to the side. Gohan moved forward slowly – agonizingly slowly, a tiny bit unaware of what he was doing. It was like he couldn't control his actions, as much as he didn't want to hurt his younger brother. But he couldn't seem to stop himself, and he continued his advances.

A startled yelp echoed from the side of him, and his head whipped around to see Videl, staring at the youngest super saiyan in shock. Slowly, she turned to Gohan, only to find him staring at her with slight confusion. The fear that once surrounded her evaporated, and she pointed an accusing finger at her former high school companion.

"Gohan!" She snapped, eyes narrowing, "How could you do that to your own brother? - He was just trying to help!"

Fear came back to her as quickly as it had gone when he raised a hand in her direction. She slapped a hand over her mouth, as though trying to take that sentence back. Before she could act again, Gohan let out another ear-piercing yell, and a strong gust of wind knocked her off her feet.

She was sent flying back, only to stop when she crashed into one of the palm tree's growing on the lookout. Using the tree as support, she groggily got to her feet, onto to drop to the ground again. Her chest rose and fell as she desperately tried to regain her breath. But until then, she was stuck where she was, forced to watch a fight that was surly to happen between two rather confused brothers.

"Oh, Goten…" She stuttered, coming to lean against the tall plant, "…Please be careful…"

**To be continued…**

**Posted 22 October 2005 – 2080 words**

I am incredibly sorry this update was so late! But I was consumed with writers block until the sixteenth of October, when I was finally able to write two measly paragraphs. I had to re-write it a few times, seeing as it just didn't sound quite right. And I also had a hard time explaining why Gohan was hurting his little brother, but I hope it came out okay…

And yes, anybody who guessed who yelled to Gohan was right; it was in fact Babidi. It was originally going to be Goten, but I felt the wizard's reasons made a lot more sense.

That's all I have to say. So until next time… Read and _Review_!

P.S. Sorry for an even shorter chapter than last time, but I thought I would ruin the ending if I added another fight scene between Goku and Buu. I promise the next one will be much longer and more action packed… since I'll be writing about two totally different battles happening in the exact same place (I might have to move one of them… probably Goku and Buu's…)


	25. An Offer and a Dieing Hope

**Chapter Twenty Five – An Offer and a Dieing Hope**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: If I was the owner of Dragonball Z, Gohan would have become evil during the Buu saga and it would have gone in the direction of this very fan fiction… But hey, I don't… so Vegeta shall forever be the traitor to our beloved Z warriors!

Chapter Twenty Four's (Fearing the Worst) reviewers – You know I love you all: **DBZ Chick 1**, **EVILNESS13**, **chimney leaf**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **darksupersaiyan**, **CosmicEssence**, **Ava**, **satan'stoasterstrudel**, **geuss**, **LauraNeatO**, **lady-kagome84**, **Asato-Chan**, and **BlueNightGVZ2341**.

* * *

With only the strength of an ascended super saiyan on his side, Goku delivered a strong, two-handed punch to Buu's bubbly stomach, which sunk in instantly. All was silent as the earth-raised saiyan waited for a reaction, hoping beyond hope that Buu had even been slightly wounded by the attack.

Slowly, the Majin's head turned to where Goku was floating. His eyes cracked open as he stared blankly at the other fighter. A gloved hand rose in front of him, and a small energy attack was formed. Eyes turned back into the slits, narrowing at the exact same time.

"Go away!" He screeched, releasing the ki from his grip.

It whistled for but a millionth of a second, then contacted with Goku's awaiting chest. He was thrown back, twisting in the air, performing uncontrollable back flips as he searched for a way to stop his free-falling body.

He finally did, but not without crashing into a tree placed right in his way. He collided, letting out a yelp of pain as he did so. With a defeated sigh, he slumped to the ground – in very much the same fashion as Videl had done when Gohan had blown her away. He looked up to find Buu staring down at him, but doing nothing else, strangely enough.

No, the monster stayed suspended in the air, a blank look tainting the features of his chubby face. Goku didn't move, he simply keep a stare locked with Buu's, lost in thought of what to do next, he had time to think, after all.

He was surly defeated, now that his super saiyan three transformation was kaput, so fighting Buu again was surly out of the question, although he would have to if ever to protect the other residents of the lookout.

Still, it didn't look like Buu was going to attack him, so he had a few more precious seconds to figure out any other ideas or options.

He needed a plan to get Babidi, Buu… and Gohan, off the lookout. It didn't have to be complicated, just anything, _anything_ at all that would give them reason to leave. His mind strained, his heart beat rapidly in his torn chest, causing hoarse breaths to rise from his throat.

"I…" His voice was just above a whisper, and seemed to have come out rather forced. His eyes clenched as he finished the sentence. "…Got nothing…"

_Defeated_, _absolutely defeated_… his mind concluded, giving up on the situation, and pulling Goku into unconsciousness with a powerful tug.

But the dead saiyan fought to stay awake. "It's not over…"

His positive nature fought for dominance, trying to expel all doubt in his mind that everything was _hopeless_. But still, the fact remained, with Gohan and the others still on the lookout; there was no hope of training to fight them off. They only had what the currently possessed, and that just wasn't –

"You _no_ challenge when you don't look funny!" Buu suddenly yelled cutting his thoughts off monentarily, "What happened to ugly long hair, _mean man_?"

Eyelids of slightly tanned skin suddenly sprung open, revealing broken turquoise orbs. Realization dawned on the halo wielding man, and instantly, a plan was formed. It was the perfect plan, involving an offer, an offer no bloodthirsty creature such as Majin Buu could pass up.

"Buu-"

He was about to state that very offer when Buu sprang forward, a hard punch following him at his side. Goku could hardly blink before the limb had connected, and drilled into his stomach. His vision blurred, blood splattered everywhere – spraying from his mouth – and Goku dropped to the ground.

The Majin giggled, before breaking out into fits of laughter. The earth-raised saiyan couldn't understand it, how Buu could be so happy with himself, after everything he had done. He found himself spitting in anger, a trail of saliva and pale blood formed beneath his face.

"Your disgusting…" He muttered under his breath, eyes downcast to the tainted concrete in his line of vision.

Buu paused, and turned around. "You done fighting?" He asked innocently, "Because _me_ bored!" The monster wined, using the same 'Completely free of quilt, _despite_' tone as before.

Again, his plan sparked within the confines of his mind, and he remembered exactly what he was going to offer the creature – before his mind had been clouded with thoughts of how much he despised the ancient being.

"Buu…" He began again, "…do you want a _real_ challenge?"

The strangely dressed Majin stared at him in an almost entranced state. His face read blank as he processed the words, but only a few seconds later, the fat face nodded up and down. He wore a childish grin as he chanted, "Uh huh! Uh huh!"

Goku raised a hand, holding up two fingers to the monster in the process. "Two days, Buu. All I ask from you is two days." He paused to wheeze before continuing. "Then you will have your challenger."

Buu seemed to ponder it for a second, but still managed to ask, "Strong as you?"

"Stronger." He assured, nodding his head.

"Sure! I just gotta' ask Master Babidi!" And he turned to leave.

"No, Buu…" Goku started to speak again, "Why do you listen to him. He's weaker than you."

Buu stopped in his tracks, head whipping around to face Goku once more, "If me don't do what he says, Master Babidi will seal me away in that big scary ball again!" He shook his head, "Me don't want that."

"Empty…" Goku concluded with a heavy breath, "…threats."

The creature nodded in agreement to Goku's words, "You right! Babidi can't tell Buu what to do!" He shouted in glee, "Two days! But me back after that!"

With a spring in his step, the monster bounced away, a chain of happy laughs trailing after him. Goku sighed in relief, just happy that he had finally figured out a way to get Buu, Babidi and Gohan to leave the lookout.

Hopefully, it would all go as planned, and Vegeta and the others would have enough time to train the boys for the fusion. It all sat on those two's shoulders now. They were the earth's only hope. Their combined power was all that could stop Buu now.

Goku sighed. Those very thoughts seemed to link to Gohan now, for it had been only been seven years since that boy had been given the exact same privilege…

And the guilt only seemed to thicken.

……………………………

The small boy, head of sharp golden locks resembling his fathers, groaned in utter pain. Gohan, his very own brother, had thrown him to the side as if he were a mere rag-doll. Muffled voices filled the air around them; all of the same pitch and tone. In fact, it sounded as though only one person was talking.

He rolled over onto his side, so that he could see – or rather, hear – the banter being exchanged between Videl and Gohan. "Could you… own brother… trying to help!" And with those small segments of words exchanged, Videl was thrown from her spot and delivered to the other side of the lookout.

Goten gasped, and quickly jumped to his feet, only to be knocked down again by a swirling ball of dark energy that had been released from Gohan's outstretched palm. Again he collided with the hard pavement of the lookout.

"Oof…" He said sorely, voicing what he felt from the pain that had just travelled from his butt. "That was mean…" He accused quietly, an innocent expression of confusion gracing the very features that reminded Gohan of his dim-witted father.

Something boiled inside Gohan. Temperatures rose harshly in his very conscious, and he found himself lunging forward, fist raised. With a hiss, he sent a powerful punch into the stomach of his seven-year-old little brother. The full force of the punch finally reacted, and Goten was sent flying.

The edge grew closer and closer as Goten flew, before he finally collided with the stony ground, and almost rolled off it. His hands clambered onto the edge as he tried to pull himself up – forgetting the fact he could fly for just a moment.

It took but a few seconds before Goten found himself sitting safely on the Lookout's surface, "What are you doing, Gohan?" He yelled in question, ignoring the echo the wind seemed to create of his young voice.

In mere seconds, Gohan was right there, standing in front of Goten's crouched form. The youngest of the Son boys blinked, surprised at Gohan's sudden speedy entrance. He looked up at his brother in child-like admiration, as though forgetting completely what the older had become in the course of only a day.

"Wow, Gohan!" He exclaimed, "You're _really_ fast."

Gohan spat heavily, leaving a pool of saliva in-between the two. "Do you _ever_ shut up?" He asked harshly, creating a tone that sent numerous shivers up dear Goten's spine.

His admiring stare dropped in an instant, and his line of vision was brought to a few broken tiles, along with the small wad of angry spit that Gohan had released, in front of him. A few tears reached his eyes, but Goten refused to let them fall. No reason whatsoever came to him as to why he needed to hold back said tears; something was just telling him that Gohan wouldn't like to see him cry.

"Gohan…"

The older of the two saiyan-human hybrids growled, narrowing his brow in the process. He bent down to grab the scruff of the younger brother's orange and blue uniform, and yanked him to eye level. Goten sniffled, still refusing to give Gohan any eye contact whatsoever.

This seemed to anger Gohan somehow, and Goten was soon found – once again – flying across the lookout on a collision course for the ground. Reflexes seemed to spring to life at that moment, causing Goten to catch the ground and flip back to his feet, completely unharmed.

"You don't want 'ta hurt me!" Goten yelled over the rushing winds, a saddened tone notable in his voice. "…Do you, Gohan?" It was a silly question, for the death-inducing blows were a clue enough. But Goten couldn't help himself asking.

Of course, Gohan didn't answer, or he did, but in a very strange way. He laughed. Not his usual laugh, however. Not a quiet laugh of appreciation like Goten was so used to, but rather a demented laugh that didn't even seem to belong to those parted lips. It sounded as though Gohan thought what his younger brother had said was the funniest thing in the world.

Silly, yes… but not funny.

Goten shivered slightly before scrunching up his nose in slight disgust. "What's so funny?" He dared to ask, anger barely tainting the edges of his voice.

Gohan's mouth suddenly snapped shut, instantly flipping his expression from one of misguided entertainment, to another of angered seriousness. A look that read, '_Don_'_t contradict me_!' focussed itself in Goten's direction.

The stare caused Goten to tense, and his arms dropped uselessly to his sides. "You're scaring me, Gohan…" He said weakly, allowing his hair to flop over his crying face, hiding the tears that seemed to say so much.

Sharp saiyan ears perked to attention, picking up Goten's words as they floated through the dusty air. Blood dripped from Gohan's lip as he bit into it, joining the many liquid stains of the same colour that tainted the white concrete. That sentence rang deep into his subconscious…

'_You_'_re scaring me_,_ Gohan_…'

'…_scaring me_…'

Memories flooded into his subconscious, all involving a time before Babidi, before this whole drama had begun. A time when he had been training with Goten, a time when everything was peaceful and easy, unlike the events of those that were playing before him.

Life seemed to hit him at that moment. His knees collapsed from under him, and he dropped to the ground. "Goten…" He began, eyes downcast. "I don't… I'm… uh…" But from that moment on, his words were nothing but a jumble of syllables and letters. Not a single sentence could be spoken from his lips.

The fear within Goten slipped slightly, and he managed to take a brave step toward his broken down brother. And another. And another. "Are you okay?" His brother didn't answer, "Gohan…?"

The older sibling looked up at the sound of his name, and he watched silently, as Goten came closer and closer. Something seemed to spark in Gohan's mind, and Goten's body started to flash from Goku's back to the original. Perhaps it was the work of Babidi, fiddling with the minds eye, he didn't know for certain.

His eyes squinted, narrowing into the image playing before him. Sure enough, Goten was once again reminding him of his father. That same, rebellious hairstyle. Those same hard, but caring eyes. And of course, there was always the same smile, so innocent and happy…

Turquoise eyes swirled into a menacing red. An 'M' placed perfectly on a bleeding forehead took the same colour. A scream was torn from a tortured throat. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and it was the last thing Goten saw before a punch collided with his face. He flew back, ki flowing around him in the shape of a golden raindrop.

This time around, his reflexes didn't seem to kick in like before, and he crashed into the pavement. Rocks and debris flew in every direction as Goten slid backwards. With a reach outward, he managed to grasp the ground and guide himself to a screeching halt.

"_Ka_…_me_…"

Goten groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. His mind looked for ways to explain Gohan's sudden burst of anger. Yet he came up empty.

"…_ha_…_me_…"

The soft sound of a familiar chant filled the air, causing Goten to blink. He had but a few seconds to process what was happening.

"…HA!"

His body twisted, coming to hover in mid-air a few centimetres from the ground. He jerked to the right in an attempt to fully dodge what Gohan had sent his way. But before he was completely out of the line of fire, the attack hit, ripping across Goten's back with unrestrained force.

At that very moment, Goten screamed. He screamed for his mother, he screamed for his father, but most importantly, he screamed for his brother to stop.

For five agonisingly long seconds that seemed to drag on forever, the blue blast continued to flow, tearing the air, along with Goten's burning flesh in an attempt to destroy everything in it's way. Finally it died down, and Goten's body dropped to the floor.

The smell of blood wafted through the air, coming to rest on Goten's fragile nose. He inhaled the scent, only to cough as it reached his small lungs. It didn't take long for him to note that the blood belonged to him, or that there was a huge gash running along his back that was producing said blood.

The pain brought tears to Goten's eyes, which were not afraid to flow freely this time around. The ground soon became soggy and wet from under his face, mixing with the blood that already seemed to lie there. Eyelids opened, if only half way, to reveal sad turquoise eyes, the same shade as his brother's.

A far off look came over his face as he tried to figure out what had just happened. It had all gone so fast, from on the ground, to in the air, to the receiving end of a powerful blast. He did know one thing for certain, however…

Gohan had fired a _deadly_ blast at him, intent on killing him. Actually _killing_ him.

He had always thought Gohan was still there, deep down. But that hope was surely dieing, for the older brother had been so serious with that blast, so dead set on ending the battle, and letting the younger lose his life.

"No, Gohan…" Goten mumbled, his head slowly turning to face the crumbling ground, "…You _can_'_t_ kill me…" He clenched his fists together, blinking away his blurry vision at the same time. "…Please tell me you don't _want_ to kill me."

His plea, however, fell on deaf ears. Perhaps it was because Gohan had simply not heard him, or maybe he just didn't want to answer. Whatever reason, the silence that was floating around them was quite unnerving to Gohan. Not even the strong clashing of attacks between his father and Buu could be heard anymore.

He rolled onto his side, using as much strength as he had left in order to complete the task. He was now facing Gohan, and could see that the older half-saiyan had not moved from his spot since he had fired the blast. An unreadable expression lay on his face, and Goten couldn't tell if he was looking at him or straight through him.

"Say _something_, big brother…" He said suddenly, voice much stronger than it had been before, "…Do _something_." A sigh left his throat, "_Anything_."

As those words passed Goten's lips, a sharply tipped, black-and-golden boot stepped forward, followed by another of the same colouring, and then another. The soft clatter of leathery material against a hard, cold surface met the young demi-saiyan's ears, breaking the awkward silence that once consumed them.

And as Gohan came closer and closer, and Goten's heartbeat became faster and faster, the little boy could only close his eyes, and wait in fear for what his big brother would do next. But still, he wouldn't lose hope in him.

The real Gohan was still there… fighting…

…He just knew it.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 26 December 2005 – 2941 words**

Yes, the wait was long, and annoying, for _all_ of us – me included, but here's chapter twenty-five, up to the usual standards. Gohan and Goten's scene had to be rewritten quite a few times, but I managed to get it finished. Next was Goku and Buu's part, which, while not having to be rewritten millions of times like it's counterpart, was still extremely hard to find the right words for.

And just so you know, both scenes are pretty much playing at the exact same time. So when Goten could hear Goku and Buu still fighting, yet you had just read that the battle had come to an end, their battle was still going on. So yeah…

Well, that's all I have to say right now… so… Merry Christmas everybody! And a happy knew year!

(Hug this chapter, for it is the last of the year! Woot!)


	26. Subconscious’ Plea

**Chapter Twenty Six – Subconscious' Plea**  
By **rainbowraindeer**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything associated with Dragonball Z. Not Gohan, not Babidi or his wizardry powers, not even the Majin symbol… only the plot… and I'm perfectly content with that... sorta...

Chapter Twenty Five's (An Offer and a Dieing Hope) reviewers: **Time Shifter**, **MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**, **lady-kagome84**, **satan'stoasterstudel**, **BlueNightGVZ2341**, **Dairokkan**, **DBZ Chick1**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **geuss**, **Ava**, **amytherat**, and **twisterblake**.

* * *

Gohan's mind swirled with panic and astonishment. _Goten_… His eyes bored into the little boy. His face held no expression, so anyone on the outside couldn't tell how he felt about the situation, only that he wasn't happy… or sad…

_What have you done_? _He_'_s your _own_ brother_! A voice, deep within the confines of his mind, screeched. It was his own, of course, yet at the same time, it wasn't - not exactly. From the inside, it didn't sound unemotional, or uncaring. It sounded like before, before Babidi.

_I_…_I_… _No, I didn_'_t mean to_! Really, he didn't actually want to hurt Goten quite like he had. But something had taken over his thoughts in those last few seconds, commanding that he end it quickly. The voice had been so strong; he just couldn't fight it off.

'_End his misery_' … it had told him

His brow knotted into a frown, and his teeth bit down – _hard_ – into his bottom lip. He suddenly found Goten looking at him with two worried, turquoise eyes. It was amazing that, even after that last blow, the boy still hadn't dropped out of super saiyan.

But even if that thought made Goten sound stronger than he appeared, he still didn't look quite as good as the golden locks might have led you to believe. The first thing Gohan had to notice were the tears streaming down Goten's face, leaving a puddle beneath his form, and mixing with any blood that had splattered over the pavement.

_You_ caused _that_. His mind told him plainly, referring to the event with so much venom that it made Gohan shudder – at least inwardly.

_I know_. That other voice – the Babidi possessed one – replied.

His eyes scanned his little brother once more, coming to rest on the gash that ran down his back, slowly flowing with blood that would surely kill the kid in only a matter of hours, or maybe even minutes. Goten didn't deserve to feel pain quite like that – _he is only seven years old_!

Gohan didn't really know what to do at that moment. He couldn't help the kid, for Babidi would surely never approve of such an action. And then he found himself regretting ever joining the '_Majin_' side. He didn't even know why he had done so in the first place…

'_They don't respect you like I do, boy. I can put your power to good use._'

'_Ah yes, that father of yours_! _Do you honestly think I believe you respect that man?_'

"_Are you sure he didn't just want to get away from you? You truly were a horrible son. Such a coward! And you even killed him at o–'_

Gohan growled under his breath, eyes igniting in red-hot flames. He didn't want to remember _that conversation_ anymore. The conversation that had led to the _madness_ he was currently living in, and causing – he had to admit – so he cut the memories off.

And then he suddenly found himself moving forward, towards Goten, towards his little brother. And he was brought back to his senses, Babidi's first conversation with him now lost in the depths of his darkened mind.

He still didn't know quite what to do once he got there, but when he caught the sight of a strong figure rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye, he knew he no longer had to. He couldn't quite tell who it was, even from how close they were, but still, he crouched into a fighting position, ready for anything.

"Get _away_ from him!"

A fist suddenly swept him up, throwing both Gohan and his unnamed attacker across the pavement. They collided and slid, leaving a deep crater in their wake. Gohan spat heavily as dust gathered up around them, making it hard to see anything for a few seconds.

Finally, the dust cleared, and he was able to name his attacker… "Vegeta?"

"That's right." Came the snarl of a reply.

And another punch was thrown, tossing Gohan to the rounded edge of the lookout's surface. He pulled himself to his feet, but the shock of his new opponent caused him to lose his balance just slightly. He caught himself before falling over again.

"What are you doing, Gohan?" He asked angrily, brow narrowing into a scowl, mouth curving downward to fit into the picture. "Damn it, boy! He's your _own_ brother!"

Gohan growled in a chaotic manner, hands coming to his head to pull at the golden strands. "I know!" He yelled. _He_'_s your own brother_! That had been exactly what his mind had told him only moments before. "I know!" He repeated.

"Why did you try to kill him, then, hmm?" Vegeta dared to ask, looking the eighteen-year-old directly in the eye.

The other saiyan – as half as he was – didn't answer. No, he wouldn't answer, for really… he didn't have a clue…

So instead, he flipped forward at the speed of light, and attacked Vegeta's now-raised arms with a furry of strongly forced kicks. The older of the two took a step back as the force in Gohan's feet became stronger and stronger. And finally, one slipped past his defences, and hit him squarely in the chest.

As Vegeta stumbled and fell, Gohan flipped backwards to land safely on his toes. Before the other warrior got back to his own feet, the majin took a quick glance at his brother. The boy had finally dropped out of his super saiyan transformation, but still, even with the great loss of power, Goten still seemed to be watching him.

Gohan sighed deeply, a little – okay, maybe close to extremely – disappointed in himself. Like everyone - everyone being Vegeta and that annoying voice in his head – had said, how could he have possibly done that to his own brother? A brother who didn't even want to fight back…

Lost in thought, he didn't notice two feet spring up from Vegeta's now crouched form. Those same feet slammed into his jaw, and he was thrown sky-high before he could even react. He twirled in mid-air in an effort to stop himself from reaching the hard ground.

He did so successfully, finding himself suspended three metres from the ground. Vegeta was soon to join him, inflicting a frenzy of powerful blows wherever he could hit. Gohan reacted slowly; his mind still on Goten, meaning Vegeta was able to do a lot of damage.

_Goten didn't deserve that_…

A first slammed fast and hard into his face. His head was sent reeling back, body going with it. He flipped back up, dark, turquoise orbs trying to keep an eye on the battle, and where Vegeta's attacks were coming from.

…_He didn't even fight back_…

Gohan's arms went into the defensive as Vegeta kicked out in an effort to push him back. Gohan grabbed the attacker's feet angrily and tossed him over his head. Vegeta collided with the pavement only a few seconds later.

…_But did that stop you_?

He could hear the shattering of rocks from where he floated, and the sound of Vegeta jumping to steady feet also reached his ears. Just as quickly as the full-blooded saiyan had recovered, a strong energy blast was gathered in his hands.

"No, it didn't." He said aloud, eyes shifting to Goten once more.

A low growl rumbled within the confides of his chest. He swung around, unseen by the human eye, and battered Vegeta's ki-based attack away as though it was nothing. His hands suddenly blazed with red fire. His brow narrowed, his eyes clutched shut, and his hair blew, using only the wind radiating from his gold, flaming form to move it.

He felt angry, extremely angry. But not at Vegeta. No, the _prince of four_ had done nothing wrong. He was angry with himself, for everything that had happened. It was his fault Buu had been released. It was his fault that the majin team were at the lookout. But most of all, it was his fault Goten was hurt and bleeding.

"All my fault…" He gasped out, quietly as he could. "_Idiot_!" His voice grew louder as he repeated that word over and over again, bouncing off the walls, the ground, and circling the beating hearts of those around him.

His still blazing hands clutched at his head, trying to control the headache that ate away at him. It was then that he screamed, long and loud, in an effort to release his frustration.

Two crimson energy blasts fired in opposite directions. One destroyed all in it's way, including several palm trees, and the very top of the lookout house. The other fizzled out into the airy distance, never to collide with anything.

His eyes slowly opened, revealing two pupils of the very same colour as those two ki attacks. "Goten… I'm sorry… I didn't…" He didn't finish his sentence, because in a flash of golden and red light, he had shot off like a bullet into the distance.

The last anyone saw of him was a strangely coloured raindrop diving into a mess of trees far from the lookout.

……………………………

A creamy white hand pushed off the edge of the tree, bringing Videl to shaky feet. She stumbled slightly, but managed to grab a hold of the tall shrub before she completely dropped again. "Gohan…" She mumbled under her breath, watching the ray of red and golden light blur off into the distance.

Her mind still couldn't grasp what had just happened. All that she knew was that Gohan had had a mental breakdown. Videl sighed, maybe the events had finally caught up to him, maybe he had finally realized what he had been doing to his family and friends…

…maybe…

Videl smiled to herself, Gohan would be okay, he just needed a little time to talk to himself, then he would be back on their team and ready to fight Buu along side them. Or the others anyway, she knew _she_ couldn't possibly be any match for that brute.

She also knew she probably couldn't talk to Gohan anymore, she had done all she could, and he had eventually thrown her aside. Even after he had spilled his thoughts about everything that had happened to him… He had forgotten completely about it, he had gone after Goku as soon as _Babidi _– yes, she was sure it had been him – had returned all of his strength.

It was like he had never truly wanted her company. But… but… she thought he had been warming up to her. And maybe he was, but not enough to stop his urges of beating the ones who hurt him the most to a bloody pulp in a fit of revenge.

"The Gohan I know doesn't solve his problems with revenge." She said in mild anger. A foot raised into the air, and dropped again in a stomp, effectively digging into the well-watered ground surrounding the palm tree. _But_… _then again_… _this isn_'_t the Gohan I know_, _not really_…

Her eyes roamed around the lookout, finally landing on Gohan's little brother. And she remembered _exactly_ what made _that_ Gohan not the one she knew… and loved - she had to admit. He had… he… he had… "He almost killed him, he almost killed Goten." She finished aloud.

Her hands lashed at the air, angry at everything around her, from the plants, to the concrete, to even the air she breathed. But not at him. Strangely enough, she felt she could never _ever_ be mad at him, no matter how hard she tried.

And it was then that her mind reeled back to Goten again. The original plan had been to walk - or crawl, depending on the circumstances – over to him and see if he was okay. Taking a deep breath, she went to do just that.

She brought her hands to her sides – stopping her crazed outburts of clawed hands - and took a few steps forward, leaving the grip of the tree behind her. "Please be okay, Goten…" She quietly said, taking a few more careful steps towards him. "Just! Please be okay…"

Closer and closer she came – whispering words of hope, hope beyond hope, that he was okay – until Goten's back was but a few centimetre's from her outstretched toes. She hovered over him for close to ten seconds, not quite sure what to do.

He didn't notice her at first, he merely stared off into the distance, tracing Gohan's trail of energy with his dark eyes. It wasn't until she lightly touched his back, accidentally brushing over his open wound in the process, that he saw her. He smiled slightly at her, and rolled over to face the other way.

"Videl!" He said to her weakly, although she could tell the word, her name – nonetheless – was meant to sound giddy and overjoyed.

She merely smiled back at him.

"Hey, Goten…" Her fingers fiddled with the pebbles beneath her, but discontinued the action when she noticed said pebbles were tainted with blood. Died blood. She wasn't sure who it belonged to. "…I'm sure Gohan didn't mean t–"

She stopped her sentence abruptly as Goten's nose scrunched up in disgust. He clenched and unclenched his fists, before saying to her, "I know he didn't… he's my big brother… The best big brother in the world!" He paused for a second, before looking up at her with pleading eyes…

…it was at that moment that they both heard those words – the last words Gohan had muttered before flying off – echo in their minds…

"_Goten_… _I_'_m sorry_… _I didn_'_t_…"

The young seven-year-old smiled, "He said sorry, you know…"

Videl's face brightened ever so slightly, and the teenager nodded, "Yeah… I know…"

……………………………

Babidi blinked. Once. Twice. Gohan… he had been there, and now… and now… he was gone? Just like that. The short, wrinkled wizard tried desperately to get his head around it, but couldn't. Everything had just happened _too_ fast. He could hardly even remember what events had taken place.

Only two words generated: There. Gone. That was it.

But it wasn't exactly what had happened that created the problem; it was what it had resulted in. Gohan had run away, leaving himself, Babidi, short one servant. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he could do only one thing…

…Scream.

"GOHAN! URGH! I can't _believe_ that boy. Did I tell him to go? No! I told him to finish off that pesky brother of h-"

A giggle was heard beside him, cutting him off in mid sentence. His large, rolling eyes shifted to look at the one who dared to utter a sound while he was busy ranting. He was amazed at who he saw.

"Buu…" He growled angrily, whiskers twitching as he did so, "WHAT _ARE_ YOU DOING?" His wrinkled fingers extended to where Goku lay, not having moved since Buu had abandoned him. "You're supposed to be killing _that_ man!"

_Incompetence_. Babidi's mind uttered in announce. Why were none of his _loyal_ servants actually being _loyal_ to him, and doing what he told them to do?

Buu was unfazed by the master of wizardry's sudden outburst. "And what are you laughing at?" Said wizard asked angrily, eyes turning to slits.

More laughs echoed from the childish monster, "You funny when you angry!" His hands clutched his stomach in a gesture to say he was in stitches.

Babidi's hands flew into the air, followed by his gaze, "Be QUIET, Buu!" He practically screamed, "I am _not_ trying to be funny!" His voice calmed, but inside he was still flaming, "Now tell me, why aren't you brutally _slaughtering_ that blasted saiyan?"

Buu's laughing stopped as his mouth closed, only to be replaced by a wide grin. "He say that if we come back in two days, much stronger challenger will be here to fight!" His hands clapped together in glee, "Can't wait! Can't wait!"

His creator's son growled, hands clenching dangerously at his sides, "I didn't agree to anything like that!"

"HA!" Buu laughed, poking Babidi's head in a humorous manner, "I no listen to you! Me wait! That's final!" He steamed slightly, staring daggers at the little wizard in a somewhat childish manner, like an infant throwing a tantrum.

Babidi didn't have time to ague with his so-called servant. So, although it took a huge hit to his pride, he agreed. "Fine! We'll come back in two days…" He mumbled curses under his breath, walking behind Buu in the process. _I have to find Gohan anyway_…

He slowly pulled himself onto the monster's back, and gave him a small kick in the side. He held on tightly to the creature's cape.

"Come along, Buu!" He said, "Lets go find that traitorous boy…"

Buu smiled wide, "Okay! Okay!" He turned to Goku, still slumped against the tree, "Me be back in two days!"

His feet pushed off the ground as he propelled into the air, and, much like Gohan only minutes before, disappeared in a flash of light. Only, it was white this time.

Childish laughter was heard trailing after the two.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 12 February 2006 – 2854 words**

The author note for this story is directed at **Ava**, but I want the rest of you to read it, just in case some of you have the same concerns…

Firstly, sorry if Gohan is being too OOC for you, but that's just how he is in this story. He's not the same shy guy you read in all those high school fictions that reside in the Gohan-Videl section - no, he's turned into a confused and emotionally-drained being. How can he possibly be IC? I ask you?

And what about when he was fighting Goku? He almost strangled the guy. Did you find that, in any way, disturbing? Well if you did, sorry, but nobody said so. Besides, the events have worn on, Gohan has been pulled even deeper into the ways of a villain, and even so, he still has his weak _what-am-I-doing-to-Goten_ moments.

Secondly, please don't rush me. As **LauraNeatO** once said…

"_Work at your own pace_. _Don't ever try to force the story_; _the story should guide you_. _Take your time writing_. _We'll all be here waiting when you update_."

I do admit, two months was a bit much, but there is a time when someone just finds writing too stressful, and needs to take a break. Not that I took a break for two months or anything, maybe two weeks (One of those weeks being when I took a class trip to Wellington)(The other was spent filling my brain with Xiaolin Showdown action in that particular fanfiction tray). But even so, I'll try my best.

As for the Gohan-Videl moments… They'll come… I am a little short on any possibilities for them to talk or interact or anything, but I do try. If the moment's right, it'll happen…

Okay, I'm done, you can now go on with your lives - or the next chapter, depending if its a few weeks later and I've posted it.


	27. Picking up the Pieces

**Chapter Twenty Seven – Picking up the Pieces**

By **rainbowraindeer**. 

**Disclaimer**: The Dragonball Z cast lives in a world of wonder. Aliens, foreign planets, and dark, dark times surround them. The full moon is given _a lot_ more meaning than just a shape in the sky. Their extensive power levels are something no normal human could ever control or even comprehend... and I own none of it.

Chapter Twenty Six's (Subconscious' Plea) reviewers: **Dairokkan**, **MysticSuperSaiyanGohan**, **geuss**, **lady-kagome84**, **TimeShifter**, **lpgohanfanatic**, **BlueNightGVZ2431**, **twisterblake**, **dragonwarriorkeltyr**, **Michelle**, **satan'stoasterstrudel**, **Franglaise**, **Lies are My Truth** and **LauraNeatO**. (Thanks for the support everybody!)

Just a quick note before I start this chapter: See, this installment has a common theme, a theme that might not exactly agree with you. Various mentions of blood are included in this here chapter. It's in every scene, one way or another - smell, crimson vision etc. (Even got it in purple here.)

Be prepared, 'cause this one aint gonna to be pretty...

* * *

"_You _are_ gonna marry Gohan_, _right_?"

-

Her feet carried her. Carried her along marbled floors. Carried her over fallen debris. Carried her to a son she just _knew_ was in _deep_ trouble.

Yes, Chichi could feel it in her, in her heart. Something was wrong with Goten, emotional or physical? She had no clue. All she did know was that her whole body stung, and that the world around her was tainted with the smell of blood, a strong stench that invaded her very scenes. It was hard to breath.

An explosion from above caused her to trip, and made her collide with the ground's hard surface. Red - _crimson_ - fizzed in her eyesight, and the sick, sick aroma of fresh blood became stronger. She gagged, feeling bile rise in her throat. She swallowed it back down before she could even think.

Worry for Goten was suddenly lost to the wind as Gohan rang in her senses. His smiling face, so similar to Goku's, grinned in her minds eye. But then again, they were all - Goten as well - so much like her husband, so happy and carefree. She found herself raked by a sob, but held back another in order to get back to her shaky feet.

Using power she hadn't dared to use since a tournament that had married her to Son Goku, Chichi started her hard dash for the front door, only stopping once in order to swipe a broom - one of her favorite weapons - that had been so _carelessly_ left lying against a wall. Her hands clenched and unclenched around it.

"Don't worry, babies..." The wind carried her voice in an echo, hopefully reaching her sons on their travels, "Mommy's coming."

- - - - -

Vegeta stood still, hovering over Goten and Videl. His eyes examined the small boy, hoping to make sense of the child's condition. Videl didn't dare interrupt his observations. She just sat there beside the bleeding boy, watching the sky above them stay true to an airy blue, not a single spot taken up by fluffy clouds.

Her mind wandered at that point, to random things, and questions of nothing. Questions of why there were never clouds above them, but rather, under them, hiding the lookout's top from view. Questions of how such a large foundation can be held up with nothing but a pole no more than a hundredth of it's size.

The questions took Videl on a far off ride, pulling her from the thoughts of going ons around her. For the first time that day since the morning tournament, she felt relaxed, as though nothing was of concern, nothing of importance was affecting her. And Gohan, the normal Gohan, was standing in front of her, smile perfectly crafted into place.

She matched his grin, and sighed in relief.

Ears aided by a saiyan's magnificent hearing perked at the sound of a heavenly sigh. Vegeta gave her a deadly glare; snapping the teenage girl out of a daydream of something she missed so much, back to reality, where everything was too hard to believe to truly be real.

"Wha...?" A smile that had once been there dropped as Vegeta's face invaded her vision. She squinted up at him.

He didn't answer her, and for quite a while, he didn't even utter a sound. But the glare stayed, a glare that bore into her and sent numerous shivers up her spine. The silence was chilling. His glare was chilling. Overall, she felt extremely cold, and found herself rubbing hands up and down her arms.

"Come." Was what Vegeta said after months - an exaggeration, but nonetheless - of unnerving quiet. "To the others."

His head motioned to where the rest were perched. Some were - like Android Eighteen and Master Roshi - merely staring off into the distance, probably trying to understand everything that was going on. The rest were talking amongst themselves, most likely trying to figure their next course of action.

Videl nodded, a little hesitantly. She climbed into an upright position, nodding again, a little more confidently this time. She motioned to take one large step forward, over a pile of rubble and onto the other side, but a muscular arm, gloved hand outstretched, stopped her in her tracks.

She froze, and looked at Vegeta. "Goten." He said simply and gruffly, eyes narrowing into slits, "Stupid girl. Are you just going to leave him there?"

A breath of air coming from a huffy pout blew a few strands of short hair - cut for _Gohan_ - out of her angry blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say something rude and crude to him for calling her a '_stupid girl_' but stopped. The other part of his sentence processed slowly.

Vegeta smirked at her, but she didn't see, as her head had already turned to Goten. She scurried away from the man to return to Goten's side, looking him over and wondering what to do with him. She looked back to Vegeta, and matched his gruff mood with her own. Only a few moments ago she had been incredibly terrified of him.

The change in attitude was amusing to the full-blooded saiyan.

"Well, what am I suppose to do wit--!"

"Carry him."

It was an order, Videl noted, she didn't dare or even want to protest it, so she quickly but carefully - so as not to hurt him - scooped Goten from the ground into her arms. He smelt of drying blood, it was horrible, but she knew it wasn't his fault. And somehow, she felt it wasn't Gohan's either.

Goten, apparently, smelt it too, scrunching up his nose the same way he had when she had almost said '_hurt you_'. Despite the situation, the young boy in her arms couldn't help cracking a joke. "Awwww! I already took a bath today." He thrashed his arms in a childish manner, "I don't wanna take another one!"

Videl giggled quietly, giving Gohan's younger brother a small smile of thanks, which he returned. She needed something, anything, to get her mind off everything that was going on. Although, she remembered, the daydreaming had been helpful. "You really know how to lighten a mood."

She flicked his nose playfully, causing the boy to giggle. "Gee, Videl." He said after a moment, "You're gonna make a good big sister one day!"

Videl looked at him strangely, but her grin never left. "What do you mean '_big sister one day_'."

Another giggle radiated from Goten, before he smiled a mischievous smile - something he probably picked up from his best friend Trunks along the way. "Well, if you were to marry Gohan..." Videl's eyes widened slightly, "...one day, wouldn't that make you my big sister?"

"Sort of..." She answered, somewhat uneasily.

A puppy-dog pout, complete with large, innocent eyes suddenly stared up at her, "You _are_ gonna marry Gohan, right?"

Who could possibly say _no_ to such a sweet and innocent look? Not her, that was for sure. Plus, she wasn't exactly sure if, at any given time, she truly wanted to say _no_. So, just to please Goten - and herself, somewhat - she agreed. "Heh, if you want me to..."

Goten smiled in contentment, and snuggled deep into the teenager's arms. Videl hugged him closer to her once he was silent and continued the rest of the walk without either of them saying a word. Of course, Goten did say one thing, but it was better left forgotten...

"_You_'_d make a good mother_, _too_."

- - - - -

It didn't take much to scare away a bunch of _pesky_, little humans, kill a _weak_, little man and take control of his _petty_, little ice-cream stand.

But Buu wanted it, that pathetic ignoramus. He was hungry again, of course, to Babidi's distaste. If that monster weren't so important to his plans of taking over the world, he would have been sealed away in that pink ball for the rest of eternity by now. Honestly, he'd said it once and he'd say it again: How could his father have possibly created that thing?

"Choco--late! Me like chocolate!"

Babidi rolled his large green eyes. "Fine! Fine! I'll get you chocolate! Can we go now?"

The creature didn't answer; he just sent a gloved hand into the brown mush of chocolate-y heaven and pulled out a fistful. The mess started about then, as soon as Buu brought that disgusting gunk to his awaiting mouth. The ice cream flew everywhere, not hesitating to hit poor ol' Babidi in the crossfire.

The short wizard growled, wiping away the remains with the back of his scaly, yellow hand.

"Straw--berry! Me like strawberry!"

Babidi's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything, there was no point. Buu had suddenly stopped listening to him, and it had all started when Gohan's stupid father had said something to him. Buu had been disobedient from the very first second, but not like this. He had always - _eventually_, at least - done what Babidi wanted in the end. But this had to have been their eighth stop since they had left the lookout, all to get some type of stupid food to fulfill Buu's never ending hunger.

Buu was completely delaying their search for Gohan, their second search that day in fact. It felt like they were never going to find him, because Buu didn't want them to.

A thought like that would have scared any normal person, because the strongest being in the world was plotting against them, making sure that they only did what _he_ wanted them to do. But not Babidi. No, he believed that he had the upper hand, that Buu was no match against him.

It was that belief that made him tell the pink monster off. "Buu! We – are – LEAVING! I'm sick of these delays. We need to find that _wretched _boy and destroy this _stupid_ planet!"

Of course, the only reply he managed to receive was a clod of strawberry ice cream, aimed right for his face. It felt like a punch, a punch the little wizard couldn't handle. He stumbled back, and fell only his butt. He howled in pain, and brought a scaly hand to his nose.

Purple. Purple blood. Just like all aliens seemed to have. And it was coming from his nose.

That was defiantly enough to throw Babidi into a rant. A long rant about the importance of listening to your master, keeping food in your mouth at all times, and finding a particular, half-saiyan teenager who was stranded somewhere on the planet and should be punished for what he had done.

"...fleeing like that? Who does he think he is? Once we find him, he will be _so_--"

"OOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

He paused mid rant, "'_Ooh_'? What do you mean by '_ooh_'?"

"Va--nilla! Me like vanilla!"

Babidi sighed, wiping the strangely colored blood from under his nose. This could take awhile.

- - - - -

Trees by the dozen swarmed in his wake as he ran, having given up on flying long ago. His vision was blurred with red, hands glowing that very same color. He felt himself caught in a loop of power that he couldn't control, and it was scaring him. All he could see was Goten - and his father, who seemed to be sitting next to him - looking up with worried eyes.

Both were covered, absolutely covered, in that same color and texture that was driving him absolutely insane. He felt absolutely sick. It was his own fault, though, he should have been able to control himself, and he should have never given in to Babidi's taunts. They didn't mean anything; they shouldn't have meant anything...

Gohan screamed, and a blast blazing with the same color as his eyes and body pounded through the trees, destroying everything it connected with. It soon changed direction as Gohan yanked two of his fingers above himself. The ki blast was far from the earth before his fist tightly clenched. At that command, it exploded in a fiery mesh of anger, frustration, and _crimson memories_. He laughed coldly at the sight of it, and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

He smiled successfully to himself, and rolled over in order to see the bluey-blue sky above, hidden slightly by tall shrubs. A calm sensation slowly, ever so slowly, began to creep into his conscious. The sun's dim rays, suggesting it was about quarter to seven at the time, peeked through the trees, and just fueled the newfound feeling even more.

The sticky feel of _blood_ still clung to him. The smell intensified as a strong wind, enough to blow many trees to and fro, washed over him. His contentment was ripped away as the sun disappeared and everything became as dark as nighttime, even though it wasn't. He wasn't angry about like he expected, but rather, disappointed. Gohan felt his eyes grow wet.

Of all the people on earth, he was the only one shrouded in darkness.

It didn't feel like he would ever be granted peace.

**To be continued...**

**Posted 17 March 2006 - No idea how many words...**

(Scary themes, dabs of humor, and one-sided romance... Is there anything this chapter doesn't have?) _Heh_, _just kidding_.

Thanks for the support of the last chapter's author note - note? More like speech - and sorry if it seemed like I was picking on you, **Ava**, but it was really focused at everyone, or everyone who had the same concerns as you. I wasn't trying to be mean or anything...

And also, as a final note, I was thinking that I might want to change the title of this story from _Unexpected Majin_, to perhaps... _Hope Beyond Hope_? I don't know, it was just an idea. Just wanted to give you the heads up in case I _do_ decide to change it. And tell me if you would like it better!

(Sorry it's so friggin' short… but… I have homework, and I've already kept you waiting long enough.)


	28. Amazing

**Chapter Twenty Eight - Amazing**

By **rainbowraindeer**.

**Disclaimer**: Yeah, I write a different one of these for every chapter, but that's just because it's FUN! So bear with me when I try to find new ways to say that I don't own Dragonball Z or any of the great characters associated with that great show/anime.

Chapter Twenty Seven's reviewers: **Dairokkan**, **lpgohanfanatic**, **darksupersaiyan**,** dragonwarrior**, **lady-kagome84**, **Straight Edge**, **LauraNeatO**,** satan'stoasterstrudel**, **Ryu-kanjin**, and **geuss**.

* * *

"_Eh_?_ It's a _broom!"

-

His strong, torn fingers wrapped around his very own throat as he found a cough rising to his mouth. He was sure to exhale out quite a bit of blood, since he knew his gums had taken a lot of hits that day. He also was sure he couldn't stand the stuff anymore – blood, he meant, not after everything that had happened. Of course, it would never thwart his love for a good, clean fight. That always seemed to include bloody wrists – although Otherworld had been a good relief from that – yet he still couldn't help going back for more.

That was something Chichi (And Gohan – now that he thought about it) hated about him. He was a fighter, never a family man.

But he COULD be a good father if he put his mind to it. He just had to learn that a good spar was _not exactly_ the best bonding technique in the world.

Once this mess was resolved, since he just knew it would be, he would spend the rest of the day just trying to figure out what Gohan expected from him, and Goten too. Then he would make up for it. He would make up for the seven years he missed, and perhaps even more if he ever figured out just how much he had neglected to be there for. Then everything would be okay. Then everything would be just --

"Hello, Goku." A familiar, frail voice filled his ears.

That's when it happened. When all his plans to save his relationship with his sons just flew out the window. When the rest of his promised day smashed into an untidy pile on the ground. When Baba came to him with heart wrenching news…

"The third ascension of that super saiyan level of yours." She paused to stare at him for a second, eyes narrowing, wrinkles following, "It sucked you dry of most of your life energy. I'm afraid, Goku, you only have an hour before you must return to the other realm."

Goku blinked. "What? No, that can't be!"

She only cackled quietly, eyes taking a humoured tone.

"But… but… the world needs me!" _My family needs me_! "I can't just go and leave everyone to die!"

"Hmph!" She floated closer to him until he could feel her angry, hot breath on his face. "You should have thought of that before using that _vulgar_ transformation." Her crystal ball dropped to an inch above the ground and slid back so they were once again at a distance.

"I had to. Haven't you seen how strong Gohan is? How angry he was when he fought me… yet still able to control his power…?" He paused in his rant, thinking about how proud he was of Gohan. Her fingers flicked in his ear, and he was snapped to attention. "It was necessary!" He yelled - as though the sentence had never stopped.

She raised a non-existent eyebrow at Goku's previous stop in motion. _Thinking about his son, no doubt_. _He is _quite_ an amazing boy_. _I feel almost bad for ripping Goku away from his son like this_. _But it has to be done_… She sighed guiltily.

"Use your hour wisely, Goku."

"But… But… I --"

Baba disappeared in a shrinking sliver of light before he could say another word.

"Damn!" He swore, throwing his fist in the air.

"Kakarot. I've never known you to _swear_." Vegeta appeared right where Baba had been floating only seconds before. He had an eyebrow raised in a joking manner.

The one known as Kakarot only stared for a moment, but finally broke into a chuckle. He could feel the movement pull on his tortured jaw, yet he continued to laugh whole-heartedly despite of it. He would take any excuse to forget about his problems.

"And I've never known you to make light of a situation quite like this one."

The older, yet shorter saiyan offered the other a hand. The younger, yet taller saiyan took it willingly.

Soon Goku was standing straight, still clasping Vegeta's rough palm. Of course, once the former prince let go, he felt the weight of his knees overpower his legs, and he slipped back to the ground with a moan and a grunt. He felt the word '_damn_' tickle his tongue a bit, but he decided against using it.

He heard a loud and angry sigh from above him - then a powerful, gloved palm grip his shoulder. "I suppose this means I'll have to drag you over there…" He said gruffly, hoisting Goku back to his feet. "And what was that stupid hag talking to you about?"

A black and purple figure appeared, thwarted the back of Vegeta's head, said: "I heard that!" and disappeared again.

Vegeta growled, glancing behind himself. It was too late, however. She was long gone. He shook his head roughly. "Pfft!"

Goku laughed childishly.

_Just_ what he needed.

Vegeta rolled his eyes unimpressively at Kakarot's pathetic reaction, before remembering what he had tried to ask before. "So?"

The other saiyan stared blankly. He had forgotten completely what Vegeta had asked him. His hand started to scratch the back of his head. It stung to do so, but he could handle it. "What?"

"Arrrg!" Vegeta exclaimed, trying to throw his hands into the air. This action almost caused him to drop Goku back to the ground. That would have hurt… _Precisely_. "What did _that pa_-- ahem, _witch_ come to talk to you about, Kakarot?"

"Well…" Goku swallowed, "I… uh… only have a… uh…"

"Yes? Spit it out!"

"Baba just came to tell me that I only have an hour left here before I have to… um… go back to Otherworld." He slowly brushed a hand through his messy black spikes, "How am I going to tell the others? I still need to talk to Gohan! I need to tell him that I--"

"Just talking to him won't solve anything, Kakarot." Vegeta interrupted, "To put it bluntly: He just wants to kill you."

"_I hate you_."

Goku sighed, "Yeah, you're right, Vegeta. He _hates _me!"

"I wouldn't take it that far. Hate is quite a strong word." The older saiyan tried to reassure the younger one. But of course, when Goku shook his head in disbelief at this reassurance, Vegeta just knew – _knew_ – that he was missing something very crucial here.

After all, little did Vegeta know, Gohan had said the same thing.

"_Hate_'_s such a strong word_."

Those words cut through Goku. He clenched the area where his heart sat as sadness and rage overcame him. His hair flashed a pale, sharp golden and his power level spiked. It didn't last long, and he once again had no power to spare in order to change into one of his reached forms.

"_I said_… _I _hate _you_!"

"Damn it, Gohan…!" He whispered loudly and painfully, eyes shutting tight. "He told me, Vegeta. He… hates…" He took a large breath, "me…"

The events of the day took their toll on his body, and Goku found a welcoming darkness overcome him. The world went black, and he floated off into a blissful sleep. He fell limb in Vegeta's arms, and the older saiyan was left to haul him half way across Dende's lookout to the others.

- - - - -

The door was easily yanked from it's hinges as Chichi ploughed through. She could tell it wouldn't be long before she finally reached her boys – Gohan and Goten. They were so close, she could feel it, smell it, and embraced it.

Dimmed hallways became a thing of the past as she finally reached the outside air - that air reeking of sweat and blood from a vicious battle. Her feet brought her to a hasty halt in the doorway, and she took the time to thoroughly inspect the area.

Seeing nothing but a beaten and broken battlefield in front of her, Chichi sprinted forward, and only came to a stop when the edge was a mere two inches away. She peered over uneasily to search for a trace of them, but her eyes strained to look through the clouds. They were too thick, just _too_ thick.

Her feet gave way beneath her and she dropped to her knees. "GOHAN!" She screeched in desperation, hoping beyond hope that he would be able to hear her, and be instantly at her side. Nothing happened, of course. She was foolish to think anything would.

She jumped up, clutching the broom she found in the hallway, and slammed it into the concrete. The hard surface cracked ever so slightly, but the damage wasn't as great as a super-saiyan punch or one of Majin Buu's blasts could cause. With one final action of anger, she tossed the cleaning utensil/weapon over the edge of the lookout…

- - - - -

The bullets sang as they pierced the afternoon air. His aim was precise, calculated; yet that slim figure heading towards him just wouldn't - _couldn't_ - be hit. His gun – a rather large gun at that - soon ran empty, and he was forced to watch it in fear of what happened next.

He felt the tug of his bubbly, red vest as his chubby partner yanked him backwards, out of the way of that falling… thing (He had now decided against it being a person). Only a few seconds later, it ploughed into the ground at the spot he had been standing only a few seconds before.

Both ran up to inspect it, and were quite surprised at what they saw. "Eh? It's a _broom_!"

- - - - -

…Chichi smiled in satisfaction, watching her weapon fall. Of course it didn't last long, and she fell back to the ground. The tears fell then, stinging her eyes. "Oh, where's Gohan?" She sobbed, "…and Goten! They have to be here _somewhere_!" She looked around frantically.

"Uh… Chichi?" The woman in question turned around, and was happy to see Bulma standing there, worried expression staring down at her.

Chichi quickly stood up and grabbed her friend's shoulders. "Where are my sons, Bulma?" She wailed, staring into the other woman's eyes. "I need to know where they are!" She shook her angrily, glaring through the tears still slipping down her face.

"Goten." Bulma began, ignoring Chichi's hardened stare. "He's okay, just getting some rest after the battle-" The blue-haired woman stopped her sentence abruptly – hoping Chichi didn't realize how she intended to end it - and looked guiltily at the ground.

Unfortunately, the other woman had. "No…" She began in a soft whisper, before her voice rose to boiling temperatures. "No! Don't tell me Goten fought that horrid monster! He's just a child! _My_ little boy! No! This can't be happening!"

"Chichi! Please!" Bulma pleaded in an effort to get Chichi to stop yelling, "Just calm down. Goten's _okay_, okay. That should be all that matters right now." _And he didn_'_t have to fight Majin Buu_. She added in her mind, but found it best that she not mention that, for surly it would raise many questions that Bulma hardly felt like answering at the moment. It would just make matters worse, anyway.

Bulma felt Chichi's hand slightly squeeze her shoulder as the woman ceased her yelling. With her eyes downcast, Goku's wife muttered, "Can I see him?" She looked up at that, staring into Bulma's eyes with hope sparkling in hers.

Bulma smiled down at her, "Of course, Chichi."

Grabbing her friend by the arm, she started leading her to where the others all were. Chichi could see most of them, peering over the balcony in an effort to see the two women. She was only looking for Goten – _naturally_ – but she just couldn't see him.

Deciding they were going too slow for her taste, she slipped out of Bulma's grip and sprinted the rest of the way to the others, leaving her blue-haired companion in a cloud of rough, thick dust.

Bulma let a large cough escape from her mouth. She started to wave a small hand around in front of her face in an effort to ward the dust off. Once it was gone and cleared, Chichi was no longer in sight. _Amazing_. Her mind muttered in a… well… for lack of a better word… _amazed_ tone.

Much slower than Chichi had gone, Bulma started on her short walk back to everyone else.

- - - - -

Gohan's eyes were closed, face pointing skyward to the wind. The breeze danced circles around him. It seemed to have fun just simply tossing around the tainted white material of his _wretched_, _despicable_, _unholy_ uniform. The boy creased his eyebrows as those words passed his mind.

He hissed curses, and ripped a patch of glorious green grass right from the week roots that tried so desperately to keep it chained to the ground. He held it in his clenched fist, watching as it tried to escape from his grasp. But he was in control of its fate. That was probably the only thing he was in control of at the moment.

A vague memory came to him suddenly. He remembered Goten, and his strange fascination of everything around him. He felt jealous of the boy somehow, still filled with such innocent wonder. Surely he would have found this pathetic grass simply… _amazing_.

"_Wow_, _Gohan_! _You_'_re_ really _fast_."

Even _him_. Goten was even amazed and intrigued by _him_. And what did do when his little brother – his only little brother – told him he was fascinated by his speed, despite the events taking place right in front of him?

"_Do you _ever_ shut up_?"

He had told him to shut up. And then he had been forced to watch that admiring stare fizzle and die. Yet, it never fazed him, and he didn't end up having second thoughts about his actions until the very end. It was too late at that point.

The teenager let the grass drop onto his lap. No, he wasn't jealous of Goten. Gohan loved and adored his little brother more than anything in the world.

If only he had realized that before.

It was merely Babidi's influence that made him honestly think that Goten was someone to be hated just because he held an innocence Gohan wished so desperately to have. The young Majin sighed miserably to himself as the memory of Goten – hurt, sad, and frightened – entered his subconscious.

"Why did I do that to him?"

_Idiot_… _because you wanted to_. His mind whispered violently, and the Majin symbol burned brightly in his thoughts.

"I didn't! Leave me alone! This is your fault!"

Gohan growled, and tore the Majin belt from his waist in a fit of anger. He threw it a good distance, before it crashed into a tree. But no matter how far away it was – or how tightly he closed his eyes – he could still see that _putrid_ symbol. And he could still feel it carved into his forehead. And he could still hear that _Babidi_-possessed, _M_-stamped voice.

_Ha_! It laughed, …_what was that?_

It haunted him, and he was sure to note that. That cursive _M_, probably created by the '_great_, _wise_, _and_ _powerful_' Bididi himself, would probably never leave him alone. Not even if the battle ended right then and there, and he was able to live the next good twenty years or so in peace. No, he was sure _not even then_.

And that voice – it would never leave him alone either.

He sighed sadly, and lightly rubbed the spot where he was engraved with that deadly symbol. Why was it still there? He no longer wanted to be any sort of servant or slave to Babidi. Yet he still was. Somehow that short, little wizard was still his master, and in turn, still had a great hold on his emotions and thoughts.

At that point, he had absolutely no idea how to break from Babidi's hold. Maybe he should return to the others, tell them he's sorry, and perhaps get a place back on their team to try and defeat Buu. Something was stopping him from doing that though…

…a small part of him told him that thing was fear.

Gohan feared that they would want nothing to do with him, for one. It was too farfetched for any of them to actually want him near them again. They would most likely be scared of him if he ever did decide to return – especially since he was still engraved with the Majin logo.

He would have to prove to them that he truly didn't want anything to do with Babidi anymore. They most likely didn't trust him, so why would they just take his word for it? The fact was – as Gohan believed – they wouldn't. _So how_? _HOW_?

Gohan screamed in defeat and flopped back down to the grass. He would figure it out. He just _had_ to.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 23 April 2006 – Eh, no one cares how many words this has.**

Sorry about the uneventful-ness in this chapter, but I needed to gather everyone together for a good discussion, have some character development from Gohan and Goku, and finally get Baba to tell Goku his time is almost up. But don't worry, it will get better next chapter.

Also, last month, UM became a year old. Boo-yeah! I'll figure a way to celebrate. Maybe an in-story GohanVidel one-shot (Since there hasn't been much of it in this story). But of course I'll need an idea first…


	29. Realization, With A Dash Of Loyalty

**Chapter Twenty Nine – Realization, With A Dash Of Loyalty**

By **rainbowraindeer**.

**Disclaimer**: Yeah – I don't own DBZ. But I DO, however, own my horrible updating skills… eleven months? That's just frikin' brilliant…

Chapter Twenty Eight's (Amazing) reviewers: **Vixen Angel**, **LauraNeat0**, **BlueNightGVZ2431**, **geuss**, **lpgohanfanatic**, **CosmicEssence**, **GreatGoku**, **HyuugaPhoenix**, **DogDemon1888**, **james**, **Twin Tails Speed**, **CrazyGohanGurl**, **reign1990** and **AnNiE4**.

Ho boy, I bet you're excited about this one. I'm incredibly sorry about the horrible wait – but there came a point in time where I lost my inspiration, and was overwhelmed with some other projects – plus, I rewrote a few things. I HAVE been writing… just not DBZ.

* * *

"_Gohan's not a monster. He's my brother, and I gotta save him._"

-

It was on the tip of everyone's tongue: _what next_? But they all sat silent, perhaps going over their own ideas to answer _just that_ question. Trunks clicked his own tongue in annoyance of the heavy tension and lingering quiet, but understood completely what kept all mouths shut. Goten, who was sitting beside him on his mother's lap, shivered under the blanket that was draped over him.

"Kakarot," Vegeta's voice came out of nowhere, deadpan. "His time on Earth is almost up."

And Goku was the center of attention again as all eyes fell on him. Unconscious, lying against the back wall, he looked absolutely peaceful. The full-blooded saiyan shifted slightly, as though he could feel those saddened pairs of eyes study him. Chichi let out a wail, hugging Goten protectively - tighter than before, causing the poor boy to squeak.

"This shouldn't be happening! This... This was supposed to be the day that Goku came back and we would all _ACT LIKE A NORMAL FAMILY AGAIN_!" She slammed a fist against the concrete she was perched on, her face streaked with angry tears, shaking her head to and fro. "This was supposed to be the day Goten got to meet his father!"

Bulma, who lay against a pillar next to Trunks, held her head in her hand. "Please, Chichi." She said slowly, "We understand, really. But... this isn't a time to overreact. We've got to-" She cut herself short, beginning the sentence again, "What are we going to do now?"

"_You_'_re_ not going to do _anything_." Piccolo seethed, entering the conversation. "The fusion technique may be our only hope in this situation. And with Goku going back to other world soon, Vegeta and I will just have to teach Trunks and Goten-"

At the sound of her son's name, Chichi cut him off. "NO! My little boy is _not_ going to fight that _monster_ again!"

_Monster_. At first, it sounded as if she were talking about Gohan, since it had been him who had actually fought Goten, but there was just too much venom in her voice for her to be talking about her _own_ first-born son. The group gave her an unnoticed look of sympathy. _If only she knew_...

Goten spoke for the first time from his place on Chichi's lap. "Please, Mum...? Gohan's not a monster. He's my big brother, and I gotta save him."

"Honey, I wasn't talking about your brother..." The comment became lost as the mother-of-two examined her child, eyes taking in the sight of his pleading, puppy-dog face. He was so innocent, which was more of a reason not to let him be a hero. He just wasn't ready for that type of thing, maybe Gohan was - which hurt her immensely to know - but not Goten.

She opened her mouth to speak, ready to tell her youngest son that her unwavering decision was _no_, but the young half-saiyan had slipped out of her embrace before even a word could be uttered. She watched silently as he stood straight and tall. He removed the blanket that had been wrapped around his shoulders to reveal tattered clothing and a recently Dende-healed body.

"I'm ready, Mr. Piccolo." Goten said proudly, knowing full well that was what his brother used to call the Namekian teacher.

Trunks nodded, smiling at Goten's back. He jumped off his seat to land next to his determined best friend. "Me too!" He chimed in.

Goten smiled in return towards Trunks, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Let's kick some Majin Buu butt!" The lavender-haired child said excitedly, pumping a small fist in the air above him.

The Namek cracked a small grin, brows creased. It was good to see that the boys really cared about what they were doing, while at the same time could still keep a fun, level head about it all. It was what Goku was famous for, nothing was a joke, but nothing was too serious either.

His smile dropped, not for anything said or done, but to eject a commanding tone. "Very well." He swiveled around, cape flowing behind him in a white blanket, and started making his way down a set of steps to the lookout's previous battlefield. "We will need a lot of room if we want to do this properly." He gave the boys a sideways glance, "Follow me."

The boys shared a glance, nodded, and scurried after Piccolo, side by side.

- - - - -

A second felt like an eternity, like a nightmare was finally _but slowly_ being realized. And the soft grass of a tree-hidden patch became a cushion for his knees to fall on as he collapsed - briefing wondering: _when had he stood up in the first place_ - in a fit of desperation and denial of what was to come.

He bared his sharp saiyan teeth, eyes focused on the ground, as a crop of grass became clutched in his powerful fist. "...no..." A whisper, running on the edge of unshed tears, it became a full onslaught of the repeated word - "...no, no, no, no, _NO_!..." and his entire body propelled forward in a white-bluey-_red_ bullet, using every ounce of power he had left.

The shorter of his nightmare laughed from somewhere behind him, rubbing a set of scaly thin fingers together - _click_ - and the childish version of that same laugh was fast approaching. In a much _faster second than the last_, big gloved hands wrapped around his arms, crushing them to his sides as they fell from the sky, smashing into the awaiting ground. In a mess of upturned dirt - they came to a halt with a twist, somehow having landed just a meter away from the wizard's feet. The pink monster grinned from above, digging a foot into the boy's back.

"Look what _me_ caught, Mister Babidi!"

Babidi chuckled, "Very good, Buu..."

Gohan screamed suddenly, his hair flashing golden in an attempt to transform, but settling back to black when the power just _didn_'_t come_. While he had previously felt like he was feeding off an endless pit of slow-coming energy - where he would have thought he had nothing left but then find a little bit more - it was being denied to him now... Babidi approached him - catching eyesight with the half-saiyan - as Buu took the time to sit down on top of the boy.

"It's good to see you _in your place_, Gohan." And the Majin in question just squirmed under Buu's weight, muscles burning with every jerk. "I won't risk losing you again. Now, you better be coming peacefully..." Sharp pain claimed his head as Babidi raised a scaly finger, and Gohan fought back a whimper, "...or _else_!"

Gohan's entire body grew lax, head dropping to the side - cushioned by a small pile of dirt - as he gave up all attempts to break free from Majin Buu's weight. His eyes stayed locked with Babidi's, and his pestering _Majin_ inner voice chuckled. '_Finally given up_, _have we_?'

Slowly, his gaze dropped from his _puppet_-_master_'s and he sighed into the clump of earth below.

'_You really have_...'

_NO_! Swallowing hard, _tasting dirt_, his dark orbs were once again on Babidi's, accompanied by a strong smirk, sitting almost empty on his face. The wizard took a quick step back, shivering just a bit - mulling over how unnatural such an expression looked on the boy's face.

"Or _else_... what?"

Babidi stood, entranced, as a streak of red lightning ran through the cursive '_M_' on Gohan's forehead. So menacing that boy could be, and yet, he was powerless, almost completely immobilized, with just a speck of consciousness left.

All the same, Babidi straightened himself up, narrowing his eyes to match the half-saiyan's cocky glare. "Or else you die, Gohan." He said simply, as though it were obvious. Folding his arms over his chest, he kicked at the dirt under his feet. "But you know better than _THAT_! Don't you, boy?"

Gohan kept silent, still smirking, as he had one stray thought, traveling through his link with Babidi - '_I_'_m not giving up that easily_'.

"_STOP_ acting like you have a _CHOICE_!" Babidi snapped, turning on his heel to walk away. "We're going, and that's FINAL! Come, Buu. Get off the damn boy before your gelatinous bulge of a body ends up _crushing_ him. We've got some cities that need... _visiting_..."

Rushing. Screaming. A single connection of a fist that ploughed through the barriers of sound, leaving one figure to fly and the other one seething with a cry of anguish. It all passed in a split second - so fast, completely in_comprehensible_ - and the wizard halted in his small steps.

His short cape billowed as he whipped around. Meeting his gaze was Gohan, standing tall and protective in front of him. Fists raised and body at the ready, Gohan growled, and Babidi chuckled at the unexpected sight. "Gohan. Hmm... it seems I've misjudged you. You're a lot more loyal than I originally thought."

Gohan stared at him blankly - _loyal_ - but before he could say anything, there was a high-pitched groan from in front of them. Majin Buu lifted himself from the mass of grass and dirt that he had found himself buried in. His expression twisted to one of confusion as he caught sight of Gohan, quietly standing with their _self_-_proclaimed_ master. "What? You not want Buu kill Babidi?"

"Oh course he doesn't, you _HORRID PINK GOO_!" Babidi called back, jumping angrily up and down.

Buu huffed, followed by a puff of poison smoke that screeched as it faded into the air, "Fine! Then Buu just kill _you_!"

Within the trademark second, an awry of offence charged into Gohan. His arms were instantly up in a desperate attempt to protect himself, but every punch and every kick still managed to break his defence and his body quickly crumbled. No longer with any power left, he shot Babidi a pleading look, calling silently for an evil source of borrowed power.

A sheet of blue energy seeped in a sphere over the small wizard, forming a protective bubble around himself, fed with a smidgen more magic than the one Piccolo had managed to break some eight to ten hours beforehand. He bounced back within his protection, gathering another flow of spell-power between his fingertips. Waiting a maximum of five seconds, two balls of magic zipped in the palms of his hands.

Fed through the master-to-servant bond Gohan shared with Babidi, the power slowly sank in. The onslaught of Majin Buu's attacks still reigned, and it wasn't until the half-saiyan was high in the air and descending fast toward the forest ground that he finally gathered enough energy to keep himself in the air. One more hard kick came, defence flying up to absorb the full force of the blow, before, finally, the boy was engulfed in a golden light.

A crack of red lightning - bright and lively - shot past him, as his transformation upgraded. Level rising to new heights, Gohan briefly caught sight of the presence of another barrier of power in his minds eye. Just before he managed to touch it, the energy stopped coming, reaching a new, unbelievable peak. Gohan smirked, wiping his face of a trail of blood that slid past his left eye. "You ready?"

Majin Buu _ooooh_ed, supposedly ever closed eyes open in semi circles. He laughed, grinning from ear to ear, as he nodded.

"Buu kill you, but Buu have fun first!"

Gohan shifted into a fighting position, welcoming the very thought. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

- - - - -

Vegeta held back as he watched them go, knowing he'd have to join them - Piccolo, Goten, and Trunks - soon. Everything was silent again, those around him once again indulged in that nauseating quiet. He growled under his breath before kneeling down to take another look at Kakarot. He was still sleeping, letting his last hour slip away from him while he could be doing something _useful_. The prince fought the urge to kick the other saiyan - while he was so vulnerable and sleeping - as he stood up. "Dende." He said simply, turning to said namek, who was somewhere behind him.

"What is it, Vegeta?" Dende asked uneasily.

"Why haven't you healed him fully yet?"

"Well... I just thought... he needed some rest..."

"Heal him!" Vegeta commanded gruffly, taking a step back to let Dende through, who, without a word, ran the few feet to Goku and placed his small green hands on his chest. A pulse of yellow energy vibrated over the fallen saiyan, then another, and another.

Finally, Goku sat up, looking dazed through half-lidded eyes and dull-black orbs.

Vegeta nodded in appreciation, and Dende took a few steps back to stand next to Mr. Popo. The oldest saiyan reached down and grabbed Kakarot by the scruff of his blue undershirt, hauling him to his feet. "Huh?" His eyes snapped open to attention, having already gained back their color and life - if a dead guy _could_ have life in his eyes. Vegeta let his clothing go, and his feet were once again on the ground.

Goku blinked, and the saiyan prince was already walking away. "Come _on_, Kakarot. Make yourself useful already."

"Hey!" He frowned as he ran after Vegeta, "That's not very nice!"

The older saiyan ignored him, making his way down the steps and across the lookout, making sure that at all times Kakarot was behind him, rather than walking beside. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other full-blooded saiyan taking in his surroundings, looking incredibly serious. The thought caused Vegeta to chuckle, which caused his companion to stare - something else he noticed out of the corner of his eye - at him oddly.

"Vegeta... laughing? Wow, I really have been gone a long time!"

His features twisted back into a sour expression, "Don't make jokes, Kakarot." He snapped, folding his arms over his chest.

Goku grumbled, turning away with his own arms crossed over his chest - like a scorn child. But once they were only a few feet away from Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo, he swapped his childish anger for the Son grin, waving at them. Vegeta had to stop and wonder if he'd discarded the idea that Gohan wanted to kill him, but there was something different about his usual smile. Seeing it so many times - even if it _had_ been seven years - made him realize that the grin he was wearing now was somewhat... forced...

"Hey, guys! You ready to start practicing that fusion technique?"

Thoughts evaporating, Vegeta scoffed, "What exactly _is_ this fusion technique?"

Goku laughed... but that seemed forced too. "You'll see."

"DADDY!" Goten leapt from his spot on the ground, landing safety in his father's arms and snuggling deep into his chest. After a few seconds, he felt warm salty-tears start to wet his gi. "I'm-I'm just so happy you're okay!" Came the muffled sob, small seven-year-old fingers clenching desperately at his shoulders.

Goku ruffled his son's hair in an effort to comfort him, free arm wrapping around to hold him tightly, "Shh, Goten. It's okay, really, I'm fine. Everything's fine!" He soothed, smile saddening as he hugged him.

"Why does he hate you, daddy?" The little boy asked, lifting his head up slightly to peek past the baggy blue material he had previously nestled his face in. Staring at him with tear-streaked cheeks and blurred vision, Goten spoke again. "You're-" He paused to release a broken sob, starting his sentence all over again, "He always said nice things about you. He... he always said you were the best daddy in the world!"

Goku hugged the boy closer, hand still nestled in his familiar black spiked locks. _The best daddy_... the words sunk in slowly, striking a nerve that had the saiyan almost crying - but he held back, knowing that if he broke down, he wouldn't be able to comfort Goten. _Or I was... once_...

'_Your heart_ i_s in the right place_, _Goku_.'

Piccolo's voice filled his mind, an emotion of anger flowing with it - and Goku looked up. Despite the nice words, the namek's face and those sharp dark eyes stared back at him coldly. A glint of _something_ shone... jealousy?... jealousy because... he'd abused a special bond... one that he once had with Gohan... Goku didn't know why he suddenly thought that - maybe he had just realized it, that through thick and thin Gohan still loved him, and he'd abandoned that love somewhere along the line.

_Then, it had been replaced with hate_...

Now, as Goku stared deeper, clutching the belt of his son's matching uniform in grief, he noticed the slight flicker of hate - _hate_, of all things... (too strong of a word, as had been noted many times in the past ten or so hours). The saiyan bit deep into his lip, tasting a sliver of blood against his tongue. As time had gone by, Piccolo had started to _HATE_ him for completely different reasons than an old rivalry linking back to King Piccolo.

But maybe he was over-thinking these things.

Or maybe... he finally _got_ it.

A soft sob in his arms brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality, where Goten snuggled deeper into his chest. And Goku just smiled - a sad smile, hugging his youngest son closer once more._ He always said you were the best daddy in the world_!

"_Maybe Gohan was wrong_..."

-

**...to be continued...**

**Posted 09 March 2007 - 2937 words**

Yes! This story reached 200 reviews on 14 June 2006. Thanks everyone for that! I just wish I had gotten this chapter out sooner...

In other news, I decided to change the summary in order to reflect the fact that the plan for this is a GokuGohanGoten-centric type thing, with a dash of Gohan/Videl (Although that last one is to be realized by the readers as the story progresses). Also, I decided to NOT imply that it was Goku who was corrupted, since that's misleading to those who want a Majin Goku fic (in fact, I'd love to see that myself!).


	30. Final Breakthrough

**Chapter Thirty – Final Breakthrough**

By **rainbowraindeer**.

**Disclaimer**: Let's keep it simple this time around: DBZ not mine.

Chapter Twenty Nine's (Realization, With A Dash Of Loyalty) reviewers: **Twin Tails Speed**, **Sega Genesis n' The 64 Live On**, **twisterblade**, **geuss**, **No1butjoe**, **AnNie4**, **link2143**, **Tony**, and **123**.

To the person who asked (and to anyone interested) – the power levels for this fic follow that of the series (apart from the fact that Gohan has had a super boost following the Majin corruption and Vegeta hasn't) so Goku _is_ stronger than Gohan while in Super Saiyan 3, as well as being equal to Buu. Only because of his previous fight with his son did he lose so badly when finally facing Buu.

* * *

"_If only we knew what they were saying to each other_..."

-

It seemed almost impossible to keep up with Gohan and Buu - Babidi soon realized. Within a millisecond, the two fighters were gone, and the wizard's shield magic sparked blue, propelling him into the air in hot pursuit once again. Just like the humans he had loathed from the day he set foot on earth - which had been a good few hundred years before hand - he couldn't actually _see_ the warriors with his naked eyes. All he had was the feel of Gohan's power and thoughts deep in his mind, forming a picture of the boy where his large yellow orbs could not.

It was then that his mind's eye caught sight of Gohan as he kicked off the edge of a steep mountain and simply fell - as if he didn't even know how to fly. And suddenly the tip of the mountain ledge shattered under the power of some unseen force, crumbling in large chucks against the sky, which the boy dodged. Afterwards and again, he was engaged in combat.

Not only was nothing but a simple master-servant connection keeping Babidi tied to the fight, but Gohan and Buu were also moving backwards in their battle - as if they had some kind of finish line they were hoping to meet at the end. While they had started off in a grassy pit of tall trees and a hidden blue blanket, all too soon the ground below shifted, magic ball of blue shield energy buzzing time and time again - and then the scenery was of a vast wasteland, quickly shifting after that into a just-as-vast ocean.

A pink rocket flew back and Gohan zipped forward, feet dragging in the water until their speed met land where a deserted beach sat. _HA_, _deserted_... _probably too scared to come out because of US_, Babidi thought to himself in a moment of prideful boasts that only had him distracted, and that was when his two servants escaped from him, flying into the city just beyond the beach.

There was a flare, and buildings collapsed, bursting into flame as a reign of blasts fell from the sky.

Gohan's power level dropped.

Only a little, however (which may very well have created a disadvantage) and the battle resumed. Fists flew as the saiyan boy threw his snapping energy into a string of cutting blows. But without the view of Majin Buu, Babidi could never tell if any of them connected.

One visibly did (well, not visibly, but wasn't the explosion of street cement and the occasional decorative street tree - where Gohan wasn't right in the middle of it - clue enough) and the force of said explosion had Babidi's bubble of protection diminish as his mind was thrown into whack. A few seconds had the small wizard summon another one. And as if the battle had held it's breath in wait for him to get his magic shield up again, the fighting started up once more.

"_Gohan_! _What's happening_!?" Patience wearing thin, Babidi screamed through their link, "_I'm sick of this_! _FINISH HIM_!"

A great pant greeted him, along with the sound of crackling thunder - which Babidi knew was the result of... as the teenager's father had put it a little while ago... the form and power of an ascended Super Saiyan. "_He's_... _stronger than_... _me_."

"_Not GOOD enough_! _Do you want more POWER_!? _Then I'll give you more POWER_! _I just want that wretched creature DEAD_!"

From in front of him, another building crumbled. Babidi threw himself back and out of the way, feeling the shockwave echo throughout the city as a bullet of spewing golden energy ploughed through the broken structure's wall, adding to the tumbling of pulsing waves in the air around him.

Then, Gohan spoke again.

"..._no_," came the breathless reply. "_I don't want it_..."

Shocked to silence - or as silent as a loud-mouth such as himself could be - he managed to squeak out in a voice that wasn't nearly as forceful or commanding as he had hoped: "_What_? _What do you mean_...? _You don't want it_?"

Gohan trembled in the mind's eye, smiling genuinely. _Genuinely_. Not the Majin way at all. "_I don't want it_...!"

But the trembling wasn't of fear or of weakness, it was a tremble of happiness, the suppressed laugh of a being that had found himself locked away from the world, suddenly finding now a good time to spring back up. "_I'm going to make it up to them_..." The young majin's whisper echoed throughout Babidi's head. Confusion followed - but as it turned out, it was Babidi's confusion.

"_What_? _Who are you going to 'make it up to'_? _What are you talking about_, _boy_?"

There was a chuckle - so full of courage and _good_ that it made the small yellowy-green alien sick to his stomach. He sat mid-air in awe as Gohan's power skyrocketed, blue streaks of lightning rising from his glow to combat the red. Even without the mind link, Babidi could still see it from where he floated. It lighted the sky with good and evil in the form of blue and red, flickering dangerously and stopping Majin Buu in his tracks from where he had been headed for the boy.

Something was happening up there, but Babidi couldn't see what, as his mind vision started to cloud over, only Gohan's voice still in his mind. But despite this, there were no more words spoken, just a promise buried deep within a screech that shattered a small window nearby. But the words formed after a moments notice: "_I'll end the nightmare_. _I'll defeat Buu_. _And I'll do it with my own power_!"

Suddenly, no longer could the wizard see the boy. In his place lay a drifting black smoke, floating in dark space. The connection was severed, and Babidi could no longer see him. It was amazing - to say the least - but that boy was still there, even with that last effort to finally do something _right_, even when Gohan thought he had finally broken free... he was still there, a tickling sensation in the back of Babidi's head.

So, it wasn't over yet... Gohan was still his... but he was slipping, slowly.

Flung back into the action, Buu was already on top of the boy. Babidi could feel it as an invisible punch knocked Gohan's head back and caused him to stifle a sad cry. Still, if the wizard could feel anything else through their diminishing link, it was determination. But was that a good thing, or not? Would the boy finally break free of the Majin symbol and kill _him_ after he'd finished with Buu? Or would he come quickly, nothing but a servant who was still lucky enough to carry his own mind?

The conflict almost had Babidi in wonderment of whom, exactly, he wanted to win. But that was an almost. If Buu overcame Gohan, then there wouldn't be any hope for him. So, while the boy was a gamble, there was no question that it was better than losing altogether to a _pathetic_, _horrible_, _imbecile_... tub of lard!

In his moment of anger and as he found even more adjectives to inwardly insult the - _stupid_ - monster, there was a flash of pink, along with red-golden-blue light, and then they were gone. Babidi growled and shouted a curse to the shaking sky. With a twirl of his fist, along with a small grumble, he locked on to Gohan's faint connection as it skyrocketed through whipping sky, energy clashing after it. And suddenly, the ground was cold from within the mind and under the boy's feet.

Normal paced magic couldn't catch them now, Babidi realized in another growl that could very well have rattled the Earth. So, throwing his arms to the ground, palms facing outwards, the magical energy surged, flickering in more blue - _darker_ this time, darker than his shield. "Papada_papa_!" He yelled, the burning city streets flaring in answer.

And he bounced high into the air, gliding like a bullet across the streak of pure energy Buu and Gohan had left behind. The pure speed of it all had his large rolling eyes snapped tightly shut. His body came to an abrupt halt as the fighters were suddenly under him, still going at it like crazed cats. In an instant, his eyes had flicked back open, widening in the sight of an icy plain of floating icebergs and freezing water.

There was a splash as Gohan fell, shivering under the cold grip of an icy ocean. Large red blasts exploded from within the water, impacting squarely with _something_ as it floating unmoving in the air. Or, _supposedly_ it was unmoving. There was no way in the deepest parts of HFIL his father would create a creature that couldn't even dodge a blast like _that_.

But Majin Buu was a _toy_-_er_, he'd had to have been hit on purpose, that was just his way. Never even took a battle seriously - as Babidi had sadly noticed on their travels. Only concerned about ice-cream and cake and... it was a game, a _deliciously_ sick game. So that meant there was no room for remorse. It just doesn't matter - you chew the head off your little sister's favorite doll... and it just doesn't_ matter_... you don't even understand why she cries. And such a philosophy seemed to work. Almost a disappointment, that. Such an evil should never be wasted. But for Babidi's life's sake, Gohan was going to _destroy_ Majin Buu.

...Hopefully.

A cracking sound amongst the washing wind had Gohan falling from the sky, slipping and sliding across a flat iceberg as it tipped slightly with the impact. While it wasn't ideal that the half-saiyan had been struck down, he was now incredibly close to where Babidi was, and with the mind's voice having crashed to a whisper, it seemed like the perfect time to question the wretched boy.

"What are you DOING!? You can't beat him without my help!"

Gohan looked up, eyes pained as he rubbed a large gash running along his right arm, "I have to try..."

Babidi cried in frustration and slapped harshly at the fast-moving air. "You stubborn little-" The wizard trailed off, pursing his lips together to add to the frown. _Why_, _never in all his years_- "Why is it so important?"

The boy stared at him guiltily for a long moment (why guiltily?) as though weighing down what he was about to say, while at the same time thinking over his master's (for Babidi loved that word) reaction. And then, every feature of the boy suddenly changed - his eyes, mouth, eyebrows, stance - everything... he stood tall, arms at his sides and a much stronger determination shining through him. He was finished thinking, and for some reason, that very thought actually _scared_ the small wizard.

"It's important-" Gohan began slowly, stare _hard_ as it dug into the mind. Because what had been a cloud of black smoke was suddenly a piercing set of turquoise eyes... lightening ever-so-slightly in color as his mouth opened once again: "-because it's my fault Majin Buu's here. If I hadn't been so consumed with jealousy and hatred... Dad... HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING _WRONG_!"

"_But I did_, _Gohan_. _I did_..."

Babidi slowly watched the boy, reacting to the voice that _he_ had heard too. Was the boy's father contacting him? Or was it just a voice in Gohan's imagination, trying to convince him that in the end, it wasn't really his fault?

"_DAD_!?" Poor and desperate. "ARE YOU THERE!?"

There was no answer. At least, the alien wizard never caught on to one.

The boy stared down at the flat iceberg, cold under his feet - Babidi noticed as it finally hit, and the two shivered in sync. "No, he's not there." Gohan finally said, pausing for but a moment to collect himself. And suddenly, through the breaking bond he had held stubbornly on to, Babidi could feel... swirling within his insides... wetness...

Was Gohan crying?

What a weak child.

"And... and... if I want to do this right, if I want to do this in the name of good - like I should have been doing from the beginning -" The quiver of a voice began again, sending a shockwave throughout Babidi's small body as those piercing eyes of a dedicated young saiyan shone with tears, running forcefully down his face. "Then, I'll use my _own_ power!"

In that moment, it almost seemed like he'd finally lost him. But - a punch - a yell - and still a feeling of wetness within - alerted Babidi to the fact that the real battle still wasn't quite over yet. The '_M_' still burned deep into Gohan's forehead, and through the black cloud he'd been replaced with, it flashed a crimson red. The wizard laughed - loud and forceful into the wind.

- - - - -

"Kakarot..."

Vegeta began, cutting through a silence that had ended only a few seconds after it's beginning. The man in question - who had toppled over to the edge with hands clenched at the lookout's rim when Gohan had asked (yelled at the top of his lungs, in fact) if he was actually there - looked up with wide eyes of amazement and shock as Piccolo finally decided to end the prince's sentence.

"...did you just _talk_ to Gohan?"

Finishing off one last fusion dance with a "HA!", Goten leaped from his spot next to Trunks, laughing with excitement and fascination as he latched on to the back of his father's orange and blue uniform. "Did you really, daddy? 'Cause... Can I talk to him too?"

Goku paused for a second, taking the time to ruffle his youngest son's hair as they rolled in a way so that Goten was suddenly on his father's stomach. "I don't know, son." He said after a moment. "But I'm sure, if you _REALLY_ wanted him to hear you - he would."

Piccolo cleared his throat - and Goku's eyes were once again on the people standing above him. "What did you say to him?"

Goten squirmed in wonder, and Goku took the small second to think over exactly how he'd felt at the time. All it had been was a passing thought, "Well..." A breakthrough? "Gohan - he said I hadn't done anything wrong. But, that's not true. I _did_ do something wrong..."

- - - - -

Within her hazy mind, Videl sighed in contentment. To _defend_ her heart - which beat crazily in her chest - a perfect image of Gohan sat down beside her. To _protect_ her from what was really happening around her, he smiled at her, tugging at the bag around his shoulders in a way she remembered as his distractive reflex whenever she gazed at him angrily.

She'd summoned him before, to help her through her heavy heart and to not let her let go of what he once was. While the last she had seen of him filled her too much with dread and the feeling of unnatural hate, she wanted to remember him from when they were at school - getting on each other's nerves as she discovered more about him, or when they were training - meeting his mother and brother and finding that - against her better judgment - she actually wanted to _impress_ him (enough that she'd actually cut her long hair, anyway).

"_Don_'_t_ _worry_, _Videl_. _It_'_ll_ _be_ _okay_."

Videl closed her eyes. She smiled. "...Gohan."

"Yeah. He'll be just fine, really. You've got nothing to worry about!"

The dream faded and she found Krillin grinning up at her - arms tightly around Marron, and Eighteen sitting silently beside him. The teenager nodded, not sure what else she could do. The image of Gohan was now gone... and she was missing his sweet voice already.

Her chest heaved and her palms began to sweat. Scrunching up her nose and biting down hard on her bottom lip, she looked about to cry. Love (was there ever a doubt?) was too much to comprehend at that moment - especially when you loved someone who was once there but had miraculously distanced himself without either of them having much say in it.

She shook her head - _that didn_'_t make any sense at all_!

But then it did - and then all that mattered was that she wanted him back.

Almost to an annoying tone, her mind whined, and she stifled a sob that ended up echoing inside her head when it didn't actually come out. Her clouded vision dispatched with a blink - and Krillin was still smiling at her.

"Maybe this is it." He finally said, laughing and rubbing a finger over the spot his nose should have been. "Heh. We're getting close."

Videl frowned and Eighteen rolled her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Krillin winked at her. Marron - in her cute three-year-old way - winked too. "If Gohan is fighting Buu now, then it can't be all bad, right? I mean, none of us really know _why_ they're fighting... But it can't be because Babidi _wants_ them to!"

Before Videl - or anyone, for that matter - could even nod or agree, the Supreme Kai's voice cut in - "We don't know that for sure. Babidi is too unpredictable for us to rule out any of his motivations. Perhaps he found that Gohan was stronger than Majin Buu. Maybe he doesn't need him anymore? But, Babidi has worked his entire life to bring this monster back. People have _died_ because of his desires. Still..."

"If only we knew what they were saying to each other..."

Then, there was a pause as the Supreme Kai turned to Kibito. A spark of seriousness shot through Videl as the two looked at one another. As if they were reading each other's thoughts - Kibito nodded and the Supreme Kai smiled.

All too quickly for anyone to contemplate - Kibito's hand was on the Supreme Kai's shoulder... and they were gone.

Videl gasped, standing up in shock. "Huh? No... Where'd they go?"

The first person she looked to was Krillin, but he just shrugged, almost as if it didn't surprise him too much that they had just disappeared without so much as a warning. "Special _supreme_-_ruler_-_of_-_the_-_entire_-_universe_ stuff, I bet!" And he went back to playing with Marron, pulling playfully on one of her pigtails as she let out a small giggle.

Videl sighed, falling back into her seat.

- - - - -

"_All his life_..."

_Tick_. A moment passed, tocking within his mind as someone or something began to talk to him. He listened in wait - every new word sounding promising to him... somehow. Buu still came on at him full force, pounding away as Gohan blocked and dodged. But despite the attack, only _that voice_ kept his focus. The world around was suddenly engulfed in an inky blackness.

His body reacted, _with no eyes and upon an impulse_, as a gloved fist _almost_ caught his abdomen.

_"...he needed a father_..."

_Fizzle_. There was an image forming above him - filling in the center of his vision's black canvas. He could hear the cracking of knuckles and bones around him, _feel_ the power of his soul radiating outwards in a burst that had the environment shake. But it was all ignored - the action of squinting up at this new image being the most favorable.

An air of surprise clogged his throat, the first details of this new image becoming clear. What caught him off guard was that this new picture was of his father - jutting spikes at the back of his head tickling softly at Gohan's face - and he was just _soo_ close. The teenager dared to reach forward, only for his hand to sink through the image despite the fact that he could actually feel his hair against him only a second before.

"..._but_, _I guess all I was_..."

_Shock_. But it still felt so real - like he was in two places at once: in the middle of a battle with Buu (_there was the faint sound of an iceberg breaking and a splash as his body plunged into ice cold water_) and listening to a far off conversation from the sidelines.

New images - _people_ - scattered around, filling the rest of the void. Trunks. Vegeta. Piccolo. Goten.

_'This is about _you,' came a voice - ringing with just as much surprise as Gohan would, given if he had mind enough to speak. The half-saiyan simply nodded. And that was enough. '_He_'_s talking about_ you! _Does this mean_...?'

"..._was a hero_."

_Push_. And that was it - the final shove that had him tinkering over the line... and then falling once the boundaries had been breached. Light swarmed into his vision, overwhelming the image of his father and leaving him with one final picture as Goku slowly turned to those behind him. He looked side splittingly depressed, and then...

"_Wha_... _Gohan_...!?"

And everything was back (just different, since it seemed that he and Buu had moved to a new area again) - another beach, with clear sky above... and Buu: cutting through the air with a kick. Gohan, who woke to find that he was lying on his back, raised his arms out in front of him. The pure force of Buu's power dug him deeper into the sand below. And yet - despite his screaming muscles and weakening limbs - he couldn't help but smile. Because at that very moment, there was a _snap_ deep within his mind.

There was one final strangled cry, then... nothing.

**To be continued…**

**Posted 19 April 2007 – 3624 words**

Hmmm, reasonably quick for one of MY updates. Yes, quite a foggy ending there, but hopefully it'll all come together in chapter thirty one. And… too Babidi orientated, right? Oh well, I suppose he deserved it, considering… cough Well, till next time!


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